Shepard's Legend: The Spectre Saga
by Sima0193
Summary: A young Commander Shepard, Hero of the Skyllian Blitz, Butcher of Torfan and N7 Graduate, finds herself thrust into a conflict that has lasted for millions of years. Commander Shepard, along with the crew of the Normandy, will find themselves tested as they deal with the fallout of a Spectre's betrayal of the Council. FemShep/Liara with AU tweaks, follows canon timeline.
1. Chapter 1 - Birth of a Legend

Foreword

Firstly, I haven't done any creative writing in nearly 7 years. I'm probably a little rusty so I'd appreciate any useful feedback and criticism you care to provide, it's you guys reading this and anything I can do to improve on that is welcomed. Having read scores of stories over the past few months here on FanFic, I felt compelled to jump in and try my hand at writing and contributing to the FanFic community and really, what better place to start than a BioWare game? A heads up before you read on. I'm going to change a few things that could've happened a little differently due to game constrictions such as the 2 squad member limitation, the lack of various choices for decisions or lack of class design and refinement in ME1/2.

Secondly, I will maintain the overall canon storyline but since I'm focusing on a more fleshed out story to setup for a post ME3 story, rather than the fairly linear and sometimes disorganised story from the game. I may move some events around but what changes I make I'll try to justify with a better narrative. As a result, some people may survive who were killed off throughout the trilogy. With that said, I hope you enjoy what you read!

Disclaimer: All characters and ideas exist within BioWare's Mass Effect universe and belong to BioWare, like everyone else here this just for fun.

* * *

 **Shepard's Legend: The Spectre Legacy**

 ** _Transport Ship to Arcturus - Present Day_**

 _Hero of Elysium, Butcher of Torfan, recipient of the Star of Terra, N7 Graduate..._ By the age of twenty seven, Lieutenant-Commander Elizabeth Shepard had already become something of a legend within the Systems Alliance. After breaking most of the records set, many of which by her friend and mentor Captain Anderson, she attained her N7 designation with exceptional results. Some had argued that because of her biotic abilities the training should've been harder, perhaps even completely different, to test her sufficiently. But despite the critics, her strength, speed and cunning seemed to surpass all previous expectations and her biotics, while lacking the refined control of an Asari, augmented a cavalier approach to combat. Blending ruthless combat tactics and unbridled biotic power, she proved time and time again that her biotics were a powerful weapon, not something to be feared like most of the old guard in the Alliance.

She was the embodiment of what it meant to be an Alliance N7. Feared on the battlefield while holding the respect of her squads and superiors, even some of the Turians in the Hierarchy had expressed their approval and interest in working alongside her on some of the imminent cross-species initiatives the Council had thrown their support behind. And then there were rumblings that she should have her own command, to step out on her own and start earning the necessary leadership experience to climb the ranks. It didn't matter to her, the only thing that mattered to Lieutenant-Commander Elizabeth Shepard was proving she was more than her reputation and biotics. If her orders meant she'd keep hunting down pirates out in the Traverse then she would, too many saw her as an officer's kid who was given the fast track.

She'd know soon enough away, the day before she'd been informed by her current CO that her time in his unit was coming to an end. The odd part however was that Captain Barnes had no idea to where and under who, only that her transfer was to a posting that would be on a new ship under another Captain. It seemed like a relatively light appointment, much like her previous posting, but at least she'd be back on a ship. She'd been groundside far too long and missed the feeling of roaming through the dark expanses of the galaxy, the feeling probably came from being a spacer kid for most of her early life. Aside from the couple of months she spent with her grandparents on Mindoir and in Alliance facilities between transfers, she'd been on ships from birth till enlistment. Either way, she'd find out soon. She was an hour out of Arcturus Station with orders to report to Admiral Hackett for a briefing.

* * *

 ** _Briefing Room on Arcturus Station - The Day Before_**

"Why are we bending over backward to appease the Council? So what if she's the best candidate, it should be _our_ decision who _we_ put forward. She'd be the best operative in the Alliance within a few years and an asset to the Alliance, hell she'll probably force us to create an N8 designation just to show _you_ up Anderson." Rear Admiral Mikhailovich railed at the others gathered in the room.

"Mikhailovich is right." Ambassador Donnel Udina was in support for anything that could forward Humanity on the galactic stage but this would be a concession he was reluctant to give. "She's the best candidate to nominate but she's also _our_ best operative. You know as well as anyone Anderson, soldiers like Shepard come along a handful in a generation and she's still head and shoulders above the rest". Udina paused to think, Humanity's progress was in his hands now and he was adamant that he'd go down as a man who furthered Humanity's cause, not the one who failed to have Humanity recognised as a power.

"We should nominate others, there were a number of viable N7 graduates this year alone. How about Lee Riley? She's not a biotic but her skills as a combat engineer are excellent and by all reports she could hang the Salarians out to dry when it comes to sabotage. Michael Davies has been invaluable in dealing with our anti-piracy operations in the Traverse, he's a combat leader and a true marine to the core. And then there's Gustav Jensen, one of the most proficient adepts we've got." Mikhailovich continued.

"Do you honestly think the Council will accept anyone other than Shepard? She was asked for by name, Nihlus is already on his way here under orders to assess _Shepard_. Not Riley, not Davies or Jensen", Anderson seethed as he named some of the other notable graduates "Spectres are the elite of the elite, the best of the best are chosen not _nominated_. If you tell Nihlus when he shows up that you're holding Shepard back from candidacy because you want her to be an exclusively Alliance operative, he might just shoot you for wasting his time. It's bad enough that there's someone pulling strings to keep her running mundane missions against pirates when she should've been given command straight out of the Villa."

That made Udina worry. He was well aware of the extent Spectres were permitted to go in pursuit of the Council's interests and in the name of Galactic peace. And he knew the Council would side with Nihlus over an entire station full of Alliance personnel. Udina knew they were playing with fire and Anderson was willing to drop the torch if it came to it.

Mikhailovich spoke up again, "Screw Nihlus, this should be _OUR_ decision. So what if the Council doesn't get Shepard. We have sufficient candidates suitable for the Spectre position, why should we give up our best? She's going to be under my command aboard that excessive waste of money and if necessary I'll have the Normandy assigned to fleet patrol duty until the Spectres and the Council give up. This is too much to give too quickly."

Admiral Hackett had sat through the meeting with his eyes rolling and head resting on his palm. This argument was a waste of time. It'd taken the Alliance nearly twenty years to produce a candidate who even piqued the interest of the Spectres, never mind the Council, after the last debacle. Hackett could tell Shepard was destined for greatness, but he knew she could do more for Humanity as a whole if she was given the tools, resources and most importantly, freedom, of a Spectre.

" _Enough_. The same argument against giving Shepard over to the Spectres can be made against keeping her here. The Council want _one_ while we have a dozen notable N7 graduates from the past five years that we can work with. They may never surpass Shepard but we'd have the good will of the Council and it would be one more step towards a council seat, isn't that what you're meant to be pushing for Ambassador? She's a hero and a villain, a ruthless saviour. She represents the best of the Spectre qualities, she would be ideal, the Council knows it, the Spectres know and _you_ know it."

Hackett had to suppress as a smile as Udina's brow furrowed. He'd taken away Mikhailovich's only support in his argument and between the rest of the Admiralty, they could always put pressure on him to comply if he continued to push this agenda. Anderson was far less subtle, he was probably smiling for his friend as much as he was for seeing the way Mikhailovich fume.

" _Fine_. Do what you will but I will still have that ship in my flotilla when you've finished pandering to the Council, Anderson." and with that Mikhailovich all but stormed out of the briefing room.

"I still don't like the idea of giving away our greatest asset to the Council, it seems to be a poor strategic decision at worst, but I'll make the call and tell them that we're having Shepard brought to Arcturus Station to begin her candidacy assessment. I just hope we don't come to regret this." Udina stood as he sighed and followed Mikhailovich out of the room.

The two veterans were left in the room. Both of them respected Shepard for her leadership potential, she led from the front and never gave any thought about the personal cost of her actions. They both knew Shepard would lead Humanity forward, though how was still an unknown. Whether she'd lead them by example as a Spectre or as an Alliance officer once she'd proven herself as a Spectre, it didn't really matter.

"She'll be proud of her David" Hackett mused. Captain Hannah Shepard was a respectable woman, already proud of her daughter's achievements and this would be the crown jewel of that collection.

"Yeah... she will. It's just it's been so long since they saw each other, the last time was just after Torfan of all places. She pleaded with me to make sure Elizabeth had counselling after that hellhole of a mission, which naturally she refused. If I hadn't managed to convince her to at least talk to someone about it I'm certain she'd have cracked.", Anderson's slowly growing fury was starting to show, his words accompanied by a thinly veiled anger, "I'll be blunt and say I'm worried for her. Nihlus is Saren's protégé and from what little I could find out it was Nihlus himself who put her name forward. Steven, if he tries what Saren pulled I will put a bullet in him and damn the consequences."

"It won't come to that David and we both now if anything seems wrong then Shepard will see herself out of it." chuckled Hackett. If nothing else, Shepard had a remarkable tendency to avoid death, if her performance on Elysium was anything to go by.

Either through luck, determination or sheer presence she'd come back relatively unscathed from all of her missions. Even on Elysium, she'd practically danced around the invaders forces until Alliance forces could secure the city and push back. Shepard had come out with a few scars and a couple of injuries but nothing permanently crippling. Torfan however, she bore the scars of that mission on the inside. Her orders had seen nearly one hundred marines die when the Batarians realised that the invading force had no intention of taking prisoners, she'd bear the guilt of that decision for the rest of her life. The two sat for a few moments contemplating Shepard's future before bidding farewell. Anderson had a ship to oversee and Hackett's attention was pulled back to the Fifth Fleet. The Fifth might be the security detail for Arcturus Station, but most of the Special Ops missions were performed by squads assigned to Fifth Fleet vessels. _No rest for the wicked_ mused Hackett as he left.

* * *

 ** _Hackett's Office, Arcturus Station - Present Day_**

"Admiral Hackett, sir." sounded off Shepard as she stood to attention with a crisp salute. Admiral Hackett was a man she, and nearly every other enlisted soldier, could respect on every level. This was a man who served as a role model for all young soldiers, how anyone could rise to the top based on merit.

"At ease, LC," replied Admiral Hackett. He knew he'd have to convince her to see him as a colleague and not just a superior one day, _One step at a time_ he thought. "I'll cut straight to the chase LC, your latest assignment has been confirmed. You're to transfer to the SSV Normandy under the command of Captain Anderson. You're to be his XO as well as command the ground teams."

Shepard had tuned out at Anderson. She was going to be serving under her friend again. Sure she'd served under him for a short while during her N7 training, he was her training officer and taught her just about everything she knew about battlefield tactics and how best to command a squad. She was broken from her reverie by Hackett clearing his throat.

"LC, have anything to ask?" questioned Hackett. He wasn't annoyed, Anderson meant a lot to Shepard but he'd never seen her zone out so completely. "You seemed lost in thought."

"Oh, ah no Admiral. Sorry, what was that after serving under Captain Anderson?" Shepard blurted out sheepishly.

"You're going to be Captain Anderson's XO on the SSV Normandy. It's a joint operation with the Turians. Human and Turian engineers have worked for months on this. I'll let Anderson brief you on the finer points but the ship will function as a scout and reconnaissance vessel."

That seemed wasteful to Shepard. Why would they have worked with the Turians to build a... scout ship? _I suppose it's a start, it's not like they'd help us build Dreadnoughts straight away_. That also meant she probably wasn't going to see much action under Anderson, at best maybe a couple of excursions to scan enemy positions for intel.

"In addition to this posting you're to be promoted to the rank of Commander, effective immediately. The ship already has an LC in charge of the marine detail." continued Hackett.

 _Commander Elizabeth Shepard? I wish Mother could be here to see this_ Shepard thought. She'd always been an excellent soldier but she hadn't really done anything to warrant a promotion, not recently. Most of her assignments under Captain Barnes had been strike operations on smuggling stockpiles and slaver bases, with minimal security or hostile presence. Flawless results but hardly promotion worthy missions.

"Sir, why me? The ground missions Captain Barnes had me run were little more than clean up, surely there are other more deserving of promotion?"

"You may not realise it _Commander_ , but you're going to be the future of the Alliance leadership one day. You've shown time and time again that you're a smart, resourceful and courageous marine, willing to go above and beyond whatever is asked of you without any fear of what might happen. You don't shy away from an order when it's daunting, you don't brush off missions that you consider a waste of time," Hackett held his hand up to interrupt Shepard, "Everyone in the Alliance has been sent on their share of pointless missions, remember I was once like you many years ago. But the difference between you and the rest is you still ensure the job's done to the best of your abilities. That's why you've been chosen for this Shepard."

It hadn't come as a surprise to Shepard that Admiral Hackett has said she would be eventually end up in command, many N7s were given their own commands and the opportunity to advance. Shepard still hadn't been given her own command, she thought that she was only put through the N7 training because of her reputation rather than because she'd earned it. Any marine would've done what she'd done at Elysium and Torfan was hardly a fine example of leadership. She'd expected to make Captain at some point, but being part of the Admiralty was a new thought. "Thank you, Admiral. I'm not going to let the opportunity go to waste."

"I know you wont. That's everything Commander, report to dock thirteen and board the Normandy. Dismissed." Hackett ordered. He knew all the details about the ship, of course, but he'd never been aboard the vessel. It was a small loss but no doubt he'd have the luxury of seeing it first hand at some point.

* * *

 ** _Arcturus Station_**

Shepard's trip down the floors to dock thirteen seemed to take a lifetime. She was elated at serving under Anderson again, he was by far the most practical of instructors during her N7 training but more than that, she trusted him on a personal level as well as a superior officer. Anderson was the one who broke down her walls after Torfan and allowed her to see that while sometimes sacrifices are necessary on a mission, grief and vengeance should never drive a decision. Most of the Batarians on Torfan had surrendered and yet she'd ordered her soldiers to take no prisoners anyway. All she could think about were the Grandparents she'd found murdered on Mindoir and the countless colonists who were dragged into slavery as a result of the heartless and malicious bastards.

Shortly before the raids began, they'd been given intel that suggested this was the base of operations for the same group which reportedly sacked Mindoir. While it was incredibly unlikely they'd find any of the colonists after so many years, many of the marines felt that this was as much a mission of vengeance as much it was an attack on any other pirate base. Shepard came back from Torfan expecting a CAT-6 and dishonourable discharge, maybe a court martial for war crimes but instead she was celebrated. Not quite the way she was celebrated for her actions on Elysium but she became a symbol of retribution to the regular rank and file of the Alliance.

As soon as she stepped out of the elevator to the docks her jaw dropped. _The Normandy... t_ _his is the ship I am going to be serving on?_ It certainly had a Turian look despite the hull seemingly being much smoother than regular Turian frigates, almost as if the ship was built to slice through whatever obstacles it came across. _Beautiful_. Shepard stood awestruck for several moments simply staring open-mouthed at the vessel before almost being bowled over by the shambling man she'd shared the elevator with.

"Typical. Why can't people move out of the way and gawp. I swear no one on this station has any consideration." grumbled the figure as he passed Shepard and continued his laboured movement towards the ship.

"Stand to attention soldier." First day of a new command, as much as she felt a little embarrassed for just standing there she couldn't allow herself to be undermined by the crew. _Although what capacity he'll serve as is a mystery, maybe he's just a technician working on ship at dock or an engineer_.

The shambling man slowly turned and tried to awkwardly stand to a full salute, clearly grimacing with some sort of concealed injury. To his credit, he didn't seem to resent being ordered to do something that made him uncomfortable.

"At ease. We seem to have got off on the wrong foot, I'm Commander Shepard, Captain Anderson's new XO for the Normandy."

 _This is **the** Shepard? _ "Flight-Lieutenant Jeff Moreau, ship's helmsman."

"You're the helmsman? I hope your injury won't be a problem."

 _Oh, another smart ass officer. Great, because Dillard wasn't enough of a jackass._ "Yes ma'am. Signed up for flight school as soon as I could enlist and no, my _injury_ hasn't ever been a problem."

 _Ever?_ "Is this your first ship Lieutenant?"

"First time as a lead pilot, yes ma'am."

"Well you seem to have lucked out a little Lieutenant, this is a hell of a ship."

"Yeah... she is."

"Carry on, Lieutenant."

 _At least she doesn't seem to have a stick up her ass. Strange though, I thought she'd be taller_ Flight-Lieutenant Moreau mused as he turned and continued his pained trek towards the ship. He'd been on and off the Normandy dozens of times but the feeling that he was boarding _his_ ship never got old. Commander Shepard was right, the Normandy was special and he knew with him at the helm that he could really bring the best out of her.

Shepard took in a last look at the Normandy before checking in with the crew dealing with last minute supplies, at this point most of the supplies looked like they had already been loaded up including the bulky form of a M35 Mako. _God I'm looking forward to taking that out, sometimes biotically charging into people just isn't satisfying enough, hopefully I can talk Anderson into some drills._

Moving up from the cargo bay, Shepard hit the comms button "This is Commander Shepard, requesting permission to come aboard."

"Navigator Pressly, permission granted. Welcome aboard, Commander." a gruff yet distinctly military voice replied _._ Shepard's eventful journey was about to begin.

* * *

 ** _CIC and Command Bridge - Normandy_**

 _Commander Shepard is aboard. Navigator Pressly stands relieved._

 _Alien._ That was all Shepard could describe the layout of the Command Deck as. _When Hackett said the Turians had helped build the Normandy, I thought they would've contributed systems or weapons technology, not renovated the interior_. The interior was as sleek as the hull and it definitely didn't feel like a regular Alliance ship. This would no doubt take some getting used to but Shepard was confident she'd know every inch of the ship by the end of the week, moving from ship to ship had instilled that behaviour in Shepard from a young age.

Shepard's eyes darted around the deck and noted the officers in the room though the figure of Anderson wasn't one of them. Striding confidently over to the most senior looking officer, a grey and balding man discussing engine outputs with an engineer a few years younger, Shepard spoke in clear, yet commanding, manner.

"Navigator Pressly?"

The older man stood to attention and snapped out a salute.

"Yes ma'am."

"At ease. I'm looking for Captain Anderson."

"Captain Anderson is currently in the communications room discussing our orders. I wouldn't disturb them."

"Them?"

"Yeah, the Captain has a Turian with him. He's supposedly some big shot sent by the council. I don't trust aliens and I especially don't trust the Turians. It wasn't even thirty years ago we were trying to kill each other."

"Pressly that was a long time ago. Isn't the purpose of this ship to help move past that?"

 _Wonderful. I knew I'd regret taking this posting. I'm bypassed by some upstart who got lucky and coasts on reputation. And worse still she's sympathetic towards aliens. Maybe I should just resign. No doubt this ship'll end up being a galactic circus in no time._ "I guess, but my family fought in the First Contact War. Both my father and grandfather fought at Shanxi."

"My Parents fought during First Contact, Anderson fought during First Contact. It's a tragedy to lose loved ones in war but we all sign up for that when we enlist."

 _But your parents weren't killed defending civilians, were they?_ "I suppose ma'am. Anyway, the Captain shouldn't be long. I'll pass word that you've come aboard when he's finished with his briefing. I'm sure you have other things to attend to ma'am."

"Sounds like a plan, Pressly, carry on." She dismissed Pressly and took in another look at the bridge again.

Shepard proceeded through the doors and headed down to the mess hall, looking to get to know her teams. Despite the ship still being in dock for another day the mess hell was empty, there were only two people on the deck at all and they were busy in the medbay. Realising she might as well get check in with the Doctor before they left, Shepard headed in their direction looking to introduce herself and get the mandatory fit-for-duty checkup over and done with.

"Look Doc I'm fine. All I have is a mild headache." claimed the young man with a hint of a Canadian accent currently undergoing a thorough scan.

"So you've said but I'm seeing readings which say otherwise. Are you going to be honest with me or do I have to force you to go through the more rigorous tests?" replied a a stern British voice.

"Fine, I've got another migraine. It's nothing more than usual and I'll put up with it like I have done for years. It's nothing to worry about Doc."

"Hmm, well we'll keep an eye on it. If it persists without medication we'll look at what we can do. This one seems to be worse than usual."

"Yeah, it's probably just the stress of working the marines into shape. I'm sure it'll ease up once we're under way and we've had a chance to settle down into a proper routine. Speaking of Doc, it looks like you've got another victim to deal with," The man leapt out of the cot and stood to attention "Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, ma'am."

While reciprocating the gesture "Commander Shepard, at ease Alenko". Both relaxed into a relaxed pose "Migraines from training Alenko? That's new. Usually the complaints I hear as muscle aches and back pain."

"Yeah, I hear you. It's mostly my L2 implants ma'am. Too much work strains them harder than L3's. I might be able to outdo a L3 in the short term but I'd feel like someone took an axe and went to work on my skull over a long haul."

"Didn't expect to see another biotic aboard. Since you're an L2 I guess you were exposed a while back? L3 myself."

"Something like that, I was exposed while my Mom was pregnant. Got lucky then I guess, only one in ten manifested stable biotics and manage to avoid terminal cancerous growths. Since L3's weren't developed until a few years ago, did you have them replaced or were you exposed later?"

"I was exposed a second time when I was fourteen, was exposed in utero but I didn't manifest biotics before that. I managed to stay under the radar while I was my Mother's ship until I was seventeen but something happened and I was detected. I'm just glad I didn't have to deal with biotics when growing up, I'm pretty sure I'd have been confined to a brig or sent groundside for the crews safety."

"Spacer kid? Lucky. I was born on Earth and shipped off to brain camp when I was fourteen".

"Shit, so you grew up without training? And then you were sent to Jump Zero? I've heard Gagaarin was a nightmare, I'm sorry you had to go through that Alenko."

"Yeah, the place was a new type of hell for all the kids sent there," Kaidan let out a quiet sigh. Jump Zero was infamous yet the stories he'd heard paled in comparison to the truth "Well, I'm gonna go and check on the marines. I'll be back later Doc, see you around Commander". The mild mannered Canadian saluted and left, leaving the matronly British doctor and the Commander alone.

"Well Elizabeth, let's get the checkup done with. No doubt you've got other places to be."

"I have to admit, I didn't think I'd see you here Karin. How's my mother?" Shepard grinned as she leapt up onto the cot Alenko had just vacated.

"Still shouting and scaring the Ensigns. I pity the poor souls who happen to get saddled with Hannah as a Captain when she gets her own ship. As for me being here, Captain Anderson hand picked the entire crew and I got the invite to fill the role of Chief Medical Officer. You mother didn't appreciate him poaching me but when he mentioned he planned to request you as the XO she just about tried to throw me out of my own medbay."

Shepard chuckled at the thought, "It's good to know she's alright, she's been a Captain for years now and she's still not been given her own command. Sure an XO of a Dreadnought is prestigious but she's always said she wanted to have her own ship someday."

"If the gossip in the officer's mess on Arcturus is anything to go by, that might be happening soon. The Normandy might be a one-of but the Alliance is meant to be running out a line of newer vessels, the plans are there but we're limited by the Treaty of Farixen. Supposedly there's negotiations about building more Dreadnoughts to rotate out but that's skirting a fine line."

"I'm actually more surprised that we even opted for negotiation first, I expected us to build them first and then ask for forgiveness." Shepard shook her head at the thought. It took the Asari and Salarian governments warning the Alliance that the Turians would continue their efforts before enough of the Admiralty and Parliament finally saw reason and agreed to join the Galactic community. While the leadership from thirty years ago had been changed, many throughout Humanity's leadership had voiced their disagreement with the constricting Treaty. That there hadn't been a concentrated attempt at exceeding the Treaty already was a small miracle by itself.

"But what about you, Elizabeth? According to Hannah you haven't sent so much as a note for months. Any exciting tales to tell?" inquired Chakwas.

"Absolutely none at all, I finished my N7 training and then I was shifted around doing glorified clean up work in the Traverse. It's been easy and I've done it well but it's not what I imagined I'd be doing after graduating. The last assignment I was on ended up without a shot fire, it turned out the pirates left a large concentration of empty storage crates and deactivated mechs as bait while they tried to move their main haul. It's become a running joke between my class, I had no issues with the N7 training, had the best results for most tests and yet I'm the one with the second rate missions. I didn't bother telling my mother how badly my careers' gone, especially when she's always been the one pushing me forward." Shepard grimaced as she spoke.

"Well, at least that looks like it's going to change. Anderson always ends up kicking a hornet's nest."

The pair continued to catch up while going through the mandatory health inspection and checkups and eventually Shepard emerged from the medbay just in time to see hear Anderson's voice on the intercom, "Commander Shepard, report to my cabin." At least she would have the opportunity to ask Anderson what his meeting was about.


	2. Chapter 2 - The Start of a Journey

_AN: I just want to and apologise for the substantial dialogue in this chapter. I know reading a ton of dialogue isn't fun for everyone and as the action starts to ramp up I'll transition to a more even split._

* * *

 ** _Captain Anderson's Cabin - Normandy_**

"Shepard, come in. It's been a while."

"Sure has Captain, how's the arm?"

"Hmph, it was a flesh wound then and it's still not funny now Shepard. This is Nihlus Kyrik, a Council Spectre. He's going to be overseeing the Normandy's shakedown run and a couple of ground missions. The Council's finally started to show an interest in Humanity and this ship was the Council's first choice for review. Nihlus is going to operate alongside your team but he'll have his own objectives on the ground."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Commander Shepard, I've heard impressive stories regarding your heroics. You've even managed to make an impression on the Hierarchy, an impressive feat for a non-Turian." Nihlus' distinctive Turian flanged accent was instantly recognisable.

"Thank you, I think. How should I address you Nihlus, do Spectres even have an official military rank?"

"Nihlus is sufficient. Spectres have the authority of the Council but we try not to upset the balance of authority. My presence here isn't anything of concern, I'm simply here to observe and report my findings to the Council and fellow Spectres."

"Sounds ominous. I hope the crew have been accommodating? I know many Humans still harbour distrust over the First Contact War."

"It's nothing new, Commander," Nihlus let out a noise that could've been taken as a sigh, "Even on a Turian ship the crew are wary of a Spectre. People fear what they fail to understand. Spectres are the Right Hand of the Council. We uphold peace throughout the galaxy, we enact the Council's decisions and monitor their interests and concerns. The Normandy is one such interest. If this ship proves to be a worthwhile endeavour the Council may push for more similar ships and include those in the Citadel Navy. The Turians may also include similar ships in their own navy if he Council approve, another step towards overcoming the animosity between our races."

"Well they did help design it. I know the Turians have been building Dreadnoughts and Frigates longer than Humanity has had modern technology but maybe we have design insights the Turians overlooked."

"Hm. If there were more Humans capable of diplomacy like you and the Captain then we might not have had to come to blows during the Relay Three-One-Four Incident. When will the Normandy depart, Captain?"

"Tomorrow at Oh-nine-hundred ship time. You have access to all of the ship Nihlus, feel free to look around."

"Very well, I'll leave you two to your business." The Spectre strode past Shepard and Anderson without a second glance.

"It feels good to have you here. It's been far too long since I've had the privilege of seeing you in action."

"It's definitely been too long. So are you actually going to get your hands dirty this time or are you just going to lead from the deck after you get a scratch... again?"

"Wiseass. I don't have to lead ground teams when I can just send you. At least this way I don't have to risk my looks to a stray round."

"Yeah, I'm sure Kahlee would hate that. Not that I mind the banter, but surely you asked me here for more than a friendly chat?"

"Well, I asked you to come here to meet Nihlus mostly. Like I said, he's going to be running operations alongside your own and I need you two on the same page. Based on the reports I could find, he's one of the best Spectres the Council has available. I need you to make sure that all ground operations are clean and precise. Your conduct and results out in the field will reflect on the Alliance as a whole as well as yourself."

 _As well as myself? Am I under assessment too?_ "Well that's a relief. I'll admit that I thought this would be a quiet posting on a scout vessel. I've never worked with a Spectre, should I expect anything in particular?"

Anderson paused to think about this. He didn't want to tell Shepard anything that she didn't need to know yet but damn if he wasn't going to prepare for anything Nihlus might try. "Never let your guard down. I don't know if his operation is to test Alliance field ops or if he's simply monitoring performance. Be ready for anything. I've had operations interfered with by Spectres before and it's turned into a bloodbath, but use your best judgement."

"Always. If that's everything, then I'm going to go and introduce myself to the marines. If I'm leading _all_ the ground operations again then I should start getting to know everyone under my command."

"Keep up the backtalk and I'll put you in for a transfer to the Luna base," Anderson couldn't hide a smile as he jokingly threatened Shepard. She was the daughter he never had and the interaction between the two had been a staple part of their relationship since before she'd enlisted, "Carry on, Shepard."

Shepard lazily offered a salute then turned to leave. She couldn't resist smiling as she turned to leave, talking to Captain David Anderson had an inspiring effect on most and knowing him as well as she did, Shepard found that just being around Anderson brought her a sense of ease, almost as if nothing would end badly. Even when they'd been shot at on their missions before, they'd always come back in one piece with nothing but a scar.

* * *

 ** _Normandy Cockpit - The Following Morning: 0915_**

"Flight-Lieutenant Moreau, you have our coordinates. Let's get going."

"Yes ma'am." Moreau starts flicking switches and hitting buttons causing a light show in the cockpit "Arcturus Relay is in range, initiating transmission sequence. We are connected, starting transmit mass and destination. Aaaand the relay is hot, acquiring approach vector. Confirming all stations are secure for transit... My board is green, beginning approach run, all systems stable. Hitting the relay in three... two... one..."

This was the part Shepard always enjoyed. Less than fifty years ago Humanity was still constrained by outdated and archaic space flight technology. No FTL drive cores, no Element Zero and no Relays, just the slow drift through the endless dark of space. Now in the midst of a mass free corridor between the Arcturus Relay and Exodus Relay, the orange glow of the cockpit was quickly overpowered by the hazy blue of the slipstream. _How far we've come in my lifetime, imagine if we'd have put more resources into space travel one hundred years ago. Imagine how much more advanced we could be..._ mused Shepard as they slipped out of the corridor.

"All systems online and functional, drift... just under fifteen-hundred k."

"Fifteen-hundred is excellent. It's good to see that General Invectus made the right decision in pushing for you as the pilot Flight-Lieutenant. Your Captain will be pleased, Commander" the Spectre nodded to Shepard and took his leave of the cockpit

"What an ass" Moreau scoffed.

"Really? He just paid you a compliment and he's an ass? Joker don't tell me you're as bad as Pressly."

"Joker? Seriously?"

"Yeah that's my nickname. It's less of a mouthful than "Flight-Lieutenant Jeff Moreau", something you seem to insist on Commander."

 _How did he not get kicked out of Flight School with a mouth like that?_ "It's a habit. Grew up in a strict military family."

"Yeah well, if you would kindly stick to Joker I'm sure it'll be quicker for everyone. And no Kaidan, I don't think he's an ass because he's a _Turian_. I just don't like people looking over my shoulder and remarking on my performance, especially when they're not even a part of the crew."

"Well Joker, he's a Council Spectre. He's going to be with us for the foreseeable future. He's here to monitor the performance of the ship and it's crew. I guess you're stuck with him."

"Spectre too? Great. Just great. You know trouble follows them around like flies to shit, right?" groused Joker.

"Well I suppose the Council are in their rights to sense someone to monitor their interests. The Normandy might've been designed by a co-Human and Turian team but it was the Council who funded the project."

"The ship's _fine_. She was fine when I hijacked it and General Invectus was pleased with the performance. No, he's not here monitoring the ship. If I had to guess he's assessing _you,_ Commander."

"Wait... you hijacked the Normandy you weren't detained? And why do you think Nihlus is here to assessing me?"

Kaidan just sat there open mouthed. Joker _stole_ the Normandy and got rewarded for it? This was the first he'd heard of it.

"Yeah I stole the ship when it was in drydock just before the initial performance tests. I locked the pilot, also the idiot meant to have _my_ job, who was supposed to be running the tests in a shuttle and took control of the Normandy with General Invectus, Captain Anderson and Captain Dillard on board. I flew circles around the patrol ship sent to disable the Normandy, evading live fire meant to disable the ship and did the plotted trial course. Turned out Invectus was so pleased with my performance, enough to overrule Dillard's attempt at court-martial me, that he had me instated as the pilot citing that 'to not have me at the pilot would endanger Human-Turian relations'."

Joker's eyes seem to glaze over and his mouth formed a lazy grin while reliving the memory. The look on Dillard's face was priceless memory. "That Invectus guy was an ass too. I mentioned to him while flying him to the Normandy that I'd be a better pilot than the guy currently assigned and he told me that he'd never let a cripple fly a ship, especially one so sophisticated as the Normandy."

"Cripple? I knew you didn't tell me everything when you crashed into me."

"Yeah well, you shouldn't have just stood there catching flies. It's not like I introduce myself saying 'Hey I'm Joker, I can't walk properly and if you shake my hand hard enough you'll break my legs.' No, as soon as I mention my illness to anyone they tell me how they're sorry for me and how hard it must've been. No thanks, I don't want passing pity Commander. No offence."

"I don't know what's more unbelievable, that you weren't court martialled for hijacking the Normandy or that you weren't kicked out of flight school."

Kaidan had to swallow a laugh at that. He'd met Joker a few months ago and gotten to know him, both being something akin to outcasts among the military for their supposed 'disabilities'. He'd heard how Shepard generally commanded the respect of her squads after asking around the mess on Arcturus but he was amazed how quickly she'd gotten Joker to open up when it had taken him weeks to get more than a few words over a meal in the mess halls.

"Nah Commander. I earned the name Joker in school because I never laughed, never cracked a smile. Just set my mind to passing with flying colours, pun entirely intended. The real joke was on the class when they were beaten by the poor little cripple they'd mocked for the last four years, guess who was the only one left smiling at graduation?" Joker's voice carried a hint of resentment but he kept himself from raising his voice.

"It's clear you're good at what you do, there's no denying that. But anyway, you don't seem to have answered why Nihlus would be interested in _me_."

Alenko was impressed, Shepard didn't miss a beat in conversation either, no wonder she had a reputation for knowing everything that went on.

"Well you find more trouble than a Krogan in a Salarian bar, Commander. You went out for a few drinks on Elysium, wound up holding off countless pirates and mercs single handedly. You went to Torfan to break up a slaver's operation and killed everyone there and to top it off you even beat the Captain's famous records at the Villa. If anyone sounds like they'd be a Spectre, it's you. I'd bet the Normandy that Nihlus is here assessing you as a Spectre."

"Bold move, I'll raise with the Kilimanjaro and take your bet."

"Betting your Mom's ship? That's low Commander, I can't say she'd like that. Still, I wonder how that ship'll fly compared to the Normandy. I doubt she'll handle as easily but I bet I could have her flying loops in no time."

"That would be a sight, I've always wondered if the inertial dampeners of a Dreadnought would withstand _that_ much movement over a short distance. I'm going to go and check on the crew, try not to piss the Captain or Nihlus off. I'm the one who has to deal with it and I'd much rather not have to." Shepard hadn't meant it as a reprimand to the pair, or more specifically Joker, but merely an informal reminder that agitating Anderson would agitate her as well.

Once Shepard was out of earshot Joker started separating out a recording of Shepard betting the Kilimanjaro against the Normandy. "Hey Kaidan, do you want a copy of this in case Shepard starts getting cranky? I'm pretty sure you could use this to leverage a favour."

"Don't change, Joker." Alenko shook his head as he laughed. Joker could be a total ass but he was always genuine with those he considered friends. He protected his frailty with an armour of sarcasm and wit but despite that Shepard had just ignored the defences as if they weren't there. She'd gauged Joker perfectly and seemingly rectified their rocky start out on the docking bay.

* * *

 ** _Normandy CIC_**

"I don't care who he is Karin, I just want him off the ship. He's not part of the Alliance, he's not even part of a military unit. Not to mention he's a _Turian_ ," Pressly railed at the ship's doctor "He's been going around the ship asking for updates and I'm sure that he doesn't have the the clearance or authority to be asking for those updates!"

 _What a narrow mindset_ sighed Karin as she rolled her eyes _._ Karin Chakwas had been stood on the bridge along with along with Navigator Pressly observing the Normandy's first relay jump, something she'd done on every new posting she'd taken. Karin had been in the military as a trauma surgeon since before First Contact and had long since distinguished herself as a head in her field. She'd been elated that Captain Anderson had personally requested her as Chief Medical Officer, she'd have access to cutting edge equipment in a newly furbished medbay, the Kilimanjaro's facilities were large but also outdated and due for a refit.

"Charles, he's here on Council business. He's probably going to report his findings back to the Council so they can decide whether or not to the initiative was a success." Karin sighed as she brushed off Pressly's concerns. It wasn't that she didn't like the man, she and Greg had known Charles for years but his continual suspicion and mistrust of aliens gradually wore down her patience. She'd spent time on Palaven, Thessia and Sur'kesh studying alien physiology and medical techniques best suited to each race as well as techniques that could translate across to other races, and while there were some who felt a little nervous at the presence of a Human, all but a handful of people had welcomed her after she'd proven her abilities and willingness to understand and embrace different cultures.

A voice chimed through a comm panel "Karin's right Charlie. I wouldn't invite him out for dinner but if he keeps to himself and doesn't interfere with the teams monitoring the core then I'm fine with him being there. I know you feel like you have a reason to hate the Turians, but one day you'll have to put aside that hatred," the voice cut out for a few seconds before picking up again "I need to run some diagnostics on the core, I'll be up to talk later Karin, don't let him put his foot in his mouth around Nihlus or the Captain."

Karin stifled a laugh before changing the subject. She knew Pressly wouldn't risk an incident but she didn't know if she could stop herself from slapping some sense into him if he continued. Turning the subject to their past postings on vessels though before she turned to Pressly, Karin noticed Shepard checking in with every operator as she passed through the CIC. _Like mother, like daughter. Hannah always made time for everyone, not just the key members of the ship._

After briefly checking in with the staff at their various stations, Shepard moved towards Pressly and Chakwas who were still engaged in a rather animated conversation. _He's probably still ranting about how a Turian shouldn't be allowed on the ship_ Shepard groaned inwardly. "Navigator, Doctor. Is everything all right?"

"No problems Commander, everything's fine. Charles and I were simply reminiscing about a previous posting, one your Mother was present on actually. It was the first posting where I was the CMO, your Mother was a Lieutenant and Charles was an Ensign at the time. He also had the most charming infatuation with your Mother." Karin spoke while barely managing to contain a giggle.

"I... ah... Karin this is hardly the time and the place for this." Pressly's face had almost turned scarlet though Shepard couldn't decide if it was from embarrassment or anger.

Deciding to speak up and try to break the growing tension Shepard asked all too innocently, "I know you've served with my mother on several tours Doctor, which was this?"

"Not too long before you enlisted actually, I think it was the _Einstein._ We were the primary response ship dispatched to colonies when an alert went out, in hindsight we should've had more ships in the Emergency Response Fleet but things were so rushed then with extensive expansion into the Traverse."

"Yeah, I remember the Einstein..." These were dark memories for Elizabeth. She'd been hid by her Grandparents in a concealed cellar shortly after the attacks started, her Grandfather knowing full well the risks of colonising on a frontier world had one installed shortly after they built the house. Rather than working aboard a ship during a break in their education, she'd opted for to work on a colony with her Grandparents. It had proven to be a near fatal mistake. "I was on board for a week or so until I was dropped back at Arcturus."

 _Hannah didn't bring Elizabeth on that tour, why would she have been on board... Oh... Mindoir, that place cracked an entire platoon of marines and she had to witness it all first hand..._ "I'm sorry Commander, I didn't mean to bring up any uncomfortable memories. Many people had to endure and witness a great deal, if you ever need to talk..."

"It was a long time ago, Doctor." The words came with no hint of sadness or anger, just an abrupt finality that meant nothing more would be said on the matter.

Pressly, having finally overcome his embarrassment piped up "Commander, I have to ask. Do you have any idea why Nihlus is here? I know for a fact he isn't part of the military and he's armed for war which means he's probably not an engineer."

Shepard sighed inwardly, "He's a Council Spectre, Pressly. He's here monitoring the Council's interest in the performance of the Normandy and her crew. Past that, I've not been told anything more, though if you want an interesting theory you could ask Joker."

"A Spectre? They're elite agents, infiltrators and espionage experts. Surely if the Council wanted a report on the Normandy's performance they would've sent an engineer or a technician. I know they're meant to be the Council's eyes but sending one seems unsual. He's definitely got other objectives Commander" Pressly's voice began to crack towards the end of his tirade. Was it fear? Nihlus had said that many Turian's feared a Spectre's presence simply because they didn't understand why they were there.

"You sure you haven't been talking to Joker already Pressly?" Shepard smiled when she spoke but her attention was caught as she saw a young marine approach and whip out a salute to her.

"Corporal Jenkins, ma'am. Requesting permission to speak, Commander."

"At ease Jenkins. Permission granted, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong ma'am, just wanted to come and check out the bridge. Most of us never had the chance to get a proper look."

"Fair enough, Jenkins. You'll have free reign of the ship in your off-duty hours, so you'll have plenty of time to admire the workmanship when we get back. You asked to speak, what's wrong Jenkins?"

"Just the one thing ma'am. Is the Turian on board _the_ Nihlus?" Pressly chortled at the Corporal's poorly hidden admiration.

"Maybe he is, Jenkins. I've not heard anything about him only what I was told in a briefing with Anderson. He's a Council Spectre and has their authority."

"It's gotta be him then. I heard held off a whole Turian separatist platoon by himself with a pistol and a combat knife. He could probably kill everyone the ship without breaking a sweat," the excited young Corporal quickly amended his statement "Except yourself, ma'am."

 _This kid hasn't seen a battlefield, only heard the barracks tales._ "Nihlus probably had more than a gun and a knife Jenkins, same as I had more than my fists on Elysium and Torfan. I'd be careful with which stories you believe."

"Maybe, but don't you think he's here to assess you Commander? You have the skills as well as the experience and if the stories are even close to the truth, you've already done what Spectres are meant to do several times over." Jenkins was all but bouncing with enthusiasm at this point. He'd never seen actual combat but he was going into combat with _the_ Shepard.

 _Everyone_ at the barracks back on Arcturus all had a story of Shepard's heroics and each seemed to be even wilder and unrealistic than the last. _Shepard jumped out of a transport and blasted an enemy position with a biotic wave. Shepard shielded herself with her biotics from a platoon of mercs while her squad opened up and tore the lot to shreds._ He'd even heard that _Shepard had climbed a Thresher Maw and warped it's insides on her own._ He knew most of the stories were standard barracks legends but surely some of them were based on the truth.

"Now I'm convinced Joker's been broadcasting his theories," Shepard drawled. She was used to hero worship but it never ceased to annoy her. She _never_ did anything alone. On Elysium her squad fought with her while on leave. On Torfan, she was chosen to lead the assault by Major Kyle but she had a force one hundred strong behind her. Still, sometimes people needed a legend to look up to and maybe aspire to, all Shepard hoped was that people tried to be the Hero rather than the Butcher. "I'll leave you to your duties, I should go and give a ship report to Anderson and see if he's got any orders for the crew."


	3. Chapter 3 - The Garden World of Eden

**_Normandy – En Route to Eden Prime_**

Shepard was heading down to the Captain's cabin when she heard the intercom come to life and crackle with sound "Commander Shepard, report to the Comm room immediately." Anderson's voice was unmistakeable, even with the faint pitch of static. Quickly turning around and jumping two steps at a time, Shepard moved back through the doors and slipped into the Comms room. Anderson wasn't present but Nihlus was. Stood there analysing images of a place that was easily identifiable as Eden Prime.

"Ah, I was hoping you'd be early. I want to discuss our destination; Eden Prime. Supposedly it's something of a paradise, a cultural symbol for Humanity."

"I'm afraid I've never been to Eden Prime Nihlus, I was raised on ships and posted to hotspots, Eden Prime has never seen combat and isn't widely considered a shore leave vacation, Elysium is, or was, the go-to place before the Blitz."

"Yes... you do seem to guard your closer colonies. It's a shame the same level of security cannot be afforded to the outer colonies, like Mindoir."

 _Don't rise to it. He knows who you are, he knows every incident in your file. If he's really assessing you this is probably a test._ "That was thirteen years ago, we didn't have the naval fleet to maintain a garrison on all of our rapidly expanding territories. Earth was so overcrowded that people were leaving in masses and settling wherever they could regardless of the risks."

"Hm, I wasn't aware of that. Many simply believe you were trying to claim as much territory as possible in the disruption your arrival caused. Still, I wonder how safe Eden Prime really is..."

"Do you know something, Nihlus?" Shepard replied, a little too harshly.

"Nothing in particular. I just wonder if Humanity as a whole is ready for this. Humans are still a young race in the Galaxy, how do you think the Alliance would handle an attack on a colony such as Eden Prime?" However, before Shepard could voice her answer Anderson interrupted the conversation.

"Enough of that Nihlus, I think it's time the Commander learned the truth of why we're here. Shepard, this isn't merely a shakedown run. We found _something_ on Eden Prime. Something of great interest to the Humanity and the Council."

"Somehow I knew Nihlus wasn't here simply to monitor the Council's investment. I take it we found something of value, more ruins like on Mars?"

"Not just ruins but the truth is we don't really know _what_ it is we uncovered. The colonists dug something up, some sort of device, that they can't seem to activate. It looks Prothean, certainly similar in design to Prothean creations on other worlds but it's supposedly much smaller and less complex."

Anderson's eyes darted to Nihlus, trying to read his blank expression. _If there's one thing I envy about Turians it's their composure. He's been stood still, barely twitched a mandible or even blinked. Chalk one up for discipline_. Nihlus spoke up "This device, or machine, needs to be recovered. Stealth is paramount. Outside of the Spectres, the Council and your Admiralty, no one knows the Normandy is headed here."

"Are you expecting trouble Nihlus?" the Commander once again replying a little too harshly, the threat of a potential firefight on the relatively peaceful world of Eden Prime triggered an immediate reacion.

"I'm expecting something to happen but I don't know what we should expect. We intercepted encrypted communications which mentioned a "Prothean device on a garden world." The message was traced back to Eden Prime but the omnitool which sent the message had been deactivated or destroyed. I've been on enough simple pickup missions to know this could end up as a conflict if we're not careful. However, the beacon isn't the only reason I was sent here, Shepard."

 _Joker will never let me forget this if he says what I think he's about to say..._

"Shepard, Nihlus is here to see you in action. Assess your conduct and your ability to work under pressure. The Council expressed an interest in you as a possible Spectre candidate. And I agree with them, you're the best of the Alliance and the best at what you do; overcoming the impossible."

 _Shit. Joker is going to be insufferable when he finds out._ Nihlus continued Anderson's speech.

"Your actions on Elysium sparked the Council's interest, Shepard. You showed courage few soldiers show under fire, you took up arms against an invading force with only your biotics and a side arm yet all you came out with were a few scratches..."

 _Scratches, sure. I was in physical therapy for weeks after they had to rebuild half the muscle in my leg_ Shepard thought to herself.

"And then on Torfan, you showed a greater resolve than even the most battle-hardened Turians possess and that was when the Spectres considered you. The Alliance insisted that you prove yourself further by completing your N7 designation, so we waited and observed. While your recent missions have failed to provide you with a similar test as Elysium and Torfan had, you still excelled regardless. Despite some resistance to the idea, I put your name forward for Spectre candidacy. While the Council can appoint Spectres without our input, we generally suggest prospective candidates for the Council."

 _Resolve? That's the first time I've heard that said about Torfan. Avenger, Murderer, Executioner and Butcher, yeah but I showed resolve when I made that call? And Nihlus, or all people, put my name forward?_

"Shepard, Nihlus is going to be shadowing your squad on the ground. He's going to be watching how you handle yourself on the field as well as how you conduct yourself on Council business. You will lead the ground team, secure the beacon and get it back onto the ship. Once we've handed the beacon over the Council, we'll get cracking on the more traditional N7 assignments, they should be sufficient to properly demonstrate your capabilities."

"That sounds acceptable, I'll have civilian assignment passed through as well. Military operations are a good test of combat capabilities, plenty of opportunities to demonstrate tactical awareness and combat skills, but avoiding the collateral damage is preferable if the situation allows it." Nihlus nodded in agreement as well, affirming Anderson's plan.

"Good. We should be approaching Eden Prime soon. Remember, we need that beacon in one piece Shep-" Anderson's orders were broken up by a rushed interruption by the pilot.

"Captain, you're not going to like this."

"What is it Joker?"

"SOS transmission from Eden Prime. It doesn't look good, you need to see this Captain. Putting it up on screen."

The screen in the comm room sprang to life showing scenes of combat. A woman in white and pink armour firing on an enemy off the screen and leaping to a friendly, knocking them out of the line of fire. More shots were being fired in the woman's direction accompanied by small explosions. The camera turned to show several other humans firing in the same direction, clearly defending the position from an encroaching force. A few more seconds of the clip showed a man grab the camera and request help.

"We are under attack... We can't sustain the defence... Ahh! Request... evac... enem... synthe... Came out of... send hel-." The man was cut short, either blasted back from an explosion or shot, no one could tell. The camera look around, two other marines seemed to stop and stare at the sky, looking for the origin of the low metallic roar that echoed around them. After a few moments which felt like an hour, a five-pronged machine descended on the battlefield. The enemy, taking advantage of the distraction, bombarded the remaining marines before the feed turned to static.

"Captain, we need get down there now. The beacon can wait, we need to evac the remaining marines and secure the civilians. Then we need to find out what the hell that thing was."

Nihlus finally stirred "No Commander. Our orders still stand. We are to secure the beacon and ensure it doesn't fall into enemy hands."

 _He can't honestly think that I'm going to leave the civilians for some ancient Prothean device just so we can get a pat on the head from the Council._ "Nihlus, I'm not leaving the civilians behind. I told you before, Eden Prime has never seen conflict. On Mindoir, those who weren't captured immediately fought back but they made the Batarians pay in blood. These people are farmers and archaeologists, most don't even know how to hold a gun. You just said that collateral damage should be avoided!"

Nihlus' mandibles twitched as he mulled over his thoughts "When the situation allows it, Commander. We don't even know why they're here. I don't recognise that ship design and we're still some distance away. The civilians, those who were in the vicinity of the attack are likely either dead or dying and are beyond our capability to help. I know you want to save them but you can't, being a Spectre means putting the mission ahead of your own feelings. For all we know, the invading force is here for the beacon. We have to secure the beacon then look to helping where we can."

"Shepard I don't like it but Nihlus is right. My gut's telling me that whatever that thing was, it was here for a purpose and while Eden Prime is on the outskirts Alliance space, Eden Prime maintains a full garrison force. We've seen they're doing what they can, we have our orders and they come from the top." Anderson's personal conflict was plain as day on his face.

"Of course, Captain. We still need to get down there ASAP. The sooner we secure the objective the sooner we can move to help the colony", Shepard had to resist flaring her biotics as she glared at Nihlus. _I didn't sign up to leave civilians to die. This had better be worth it Nihlus._ "Joker, how far are we out?"

"Seventeen minutes, Commander."

Shepard looked to the pair and nodded, leaving immediately to round up Alenko and Jenkins to suit up for the ground operation. After taking a deep breath, Anderson responded to Joker on the comms. "Make that fifteen Joker, take us in fast and quiet. We need to secure that beacon at all costs. Nihlus, take anything you need from the armoury. This looks like it's going to be a rough one."

Nihlus merely nodded, "I'm sorry that it's come to this Captain, but it is the right decision." Taking his leave, Nihlus headed down to the Cargo Bay.

 _Saren, if this is your doing I will hunt you down and end you. It wasn't enough that you ruined my chance, if you're here to sabotage Elizabeth's too then there'll no place the Council will be able to protect you._ Anderson took another deep breath and looked at the frozen frame of the megalithic structure on the screen. _Stay safe Elizabeth. I promised Hannah I'd keep you alive._

* * *

 ** _Normandy Cargo Bay - Eden Prime Atmosphere_**

"Okay. Our job is to secure the beacon. We're going to be dropped about two kilometres out, we're going to work our way around the outskirts of the colony and head towards the site where the beacon was uncovered. Once the beacon is secured, we can move towards securing the colony." Shepard ran through her squad's orders. She could tell Alenko's thoughts matched her own, his easy smile replaced by a frown.

"Commander, I was born here. We can't sit around while the colonists are under attack!" fumed Jenkins. The young soldier was torn, he greatly admired and respected the Commander but she was telling him that they had to abandon the civilians for some... beacon? This was the woman who fought raiders on her days off and she was ordering them to sit and wait on the sidelines in a digsite?

"I know it's difficult Corporal, but those are our orders. I don't like them any more than you but you need to put faith in the chain of command," Shepard knew that outright lying would cause a rift but trying to assure the nervous marine seeing his home under attack that he had to trust her was paramount. "The staff in the CIC are analysing the enemy position, they've had time to set up. Even the three of us would struggle to take an entrenched enemy with minimal support."

"I... You're right Commander. I guess I just have to hope that the civilians got out in time and that the marines held the line long enough."

Lying to Jenkins was hard. His first combat drop was going to be in his home and worse still he was told he couldn't help. Shepard knew that keeping her composure was a command necessity but she knew exactly how he felt. She felt the exact same thing going to Torfan, that she'd been helpless on Mindoir and that she had to put it right. Shepard just hoped that she'd be able to turn Jenkins from a bitter path once this was over.

Nihlus had been in his armour since he came aboard, much like many Turians on a military vessel, so he'd spent the past five minutes listening to the Commander converse with her squad. He could see the conflict in her eyes in the Comm room but here she was trying to assure the younger soldier that he needed to keep it together. _So she's as capable a leader as the reports say. She doesn't agree with her orders but she understands that it's for the good of the mission. That's a start, I wonder how she would handle a field decision, whether she'd risk the mission over moral qualms..._

Nihlus was unusual for a Turian in that he didn't harbour any hatred or resentment for humanity, in fact he admired how far they had come in such a short time. Within a Salarian lifespan, Humanity had advanced more than any other race had in nearly four hundred years. Of course much of the progress was catchup compared to Asari, Salarian and Turian standards but it was remarkable progress nonetheless for a species which had only just uncovered Prothean technology.

The Turian's inspection of the Commander was interrupted by the Captain marching towards the group. "Okay. Nihlus, given that the situation has changed I'd like you to move ahead of Shepard's squad, be their eyes and ears" Nihlus nodded. He didn't disagree with the Captain's tactical input but it meant he likely wouldn't see Shepard in combat as he ideally should have. "Shepard, your squad will secure the digsite. We'll fly the Normandy over the city and scan for survivors and grab any intel on the enemy, then once you've secured the site we'll bring the rest of the force down. We can't risk the enemy knowing the beacon's location and if we drop a dozen marines at a dig site away from the city it might rouse suspicion and bring that... ship down on us."

"Understood Captain, we'll have the beacon secured and ready for transit ASAP." acknowledged Shepard.

A few moments after the ramp cargo door lowered, Joker expertly landed near a ridge on the edge of the colony. With their last minute checks complete, Shepard and Nihlus nodded to each other and started down the ramp. They knew what was required of them, words were unnecessary between veterans on a battlefield.

 _I'm sorry I can't help everyone Jenkins, but I promise you that I'll make this right_ Shepard thought as the ramp came down, revealing the devastated buildings of the colony.

* * *

 ** _Eden Prime Outskirts_**

Eden Prime was just that, a picturesque setting named for the fabled "Garden of Eden." Before Humanity had even tried to colonise the world, there was a thriving ecosystem consisting of hundreds of unique forms of life, further reinforcing the concept of a garden world untouched by mankind. All manner of creatures, from peaceful aquatic species to vicious avian predators. Yet no garden is complete without it's pests and Eden Prime's local pest happened to be some sort of floating gaseous creature. The trio had waded their way through a few stretches of marshland while skirting around the city and these unusual creatures had been their only company. Unfortunately, Kaidan was the first to make contact.

 _Psssssh... Bwoom!_ Kaidan had just about leapt out of his armour in shock before readying his biotics and gun in the direction of the noise, "Jenkins, what the hell are these things" asked a particularly bemused and slightly rattled Lieutenant.

"We called them 'Gas Bags' when we were younger. They're harmless, they just float around and explode if they get agitated or something pops the 'Bag' that lets them float, hence the name. They're toxic though, don't go breathing them in Lieutenant."

"That's just disgusting Jenkins, anything else we might want to avoid?"

"Quiet down you two. I'd like it if we didn't make any more noise than we had to." barked Shepard.

They'd been slogging through marshland for the past ten minutes and according to her omnitool the dig site was another eight hundred meters out. They just had to round this cliff side and back towards the colony to make it to their objective. It took the group another minute of trudging through the muck until they found dry land again but to Jenkins' dismay, they also came across a pair of corpses that had been left where they fell.

"God no... why..?" stuttered Jenkins. He'd seen corpses before, part of the training for strike team and ground ops included being taught how to asses the wounds on a corpse in order to obtain critical information they could use, but these bodies were beyond recognition. "Commander, who the hell does this to people? _What_ the hell does this to civilians..?"

Shepard could tell that Jenkins was starting to waver. She could understand why, from what she could remember on his dossier his whole family lived here, a couple of sisters and his parents. _I should've had him taken off duty for this one, he's still a green soldier and this mission was bloody before we even dropped._ It was a moot point now anyway. She knew he'd either pass a trial by fire or burn in the process, but she couldn't help but feel that this was her fault. Pushing the dark seeds of guilt to the back of her mind, Shepard urged the squad forward. _Quicker we get that beacon, the quicker we can save more people from a similar fate. Steel yourself and focus._

"Okay, we've got open ground ahead. If there's corpses this close to the dig site I'm going to assume there are hostiles are nearby. Stick to cover and wait for my orders to engage. I don't want to take any risks, not unless we have to." Nodding to the others, Shepard moved to take point. Gesturing to Alenko and Jenkins to move up in tandem, the trio covered half the space with quick precision. It was only when Jenkins broke cover and started forward that a steadily increasing whirring sound could be heard from around the corner.

Shepard saw the first drone round the corner and opened fire with her trusty Crusader shotgun, taking the first drone down but Jenkins had frozen in place. "Alenko, put up a barrier around Jenkins when he lands" ordered Shepard. Alenko nodded in acknowledgement and readied his biotics from cover while Shepard biotically charged towards Jenkins. _I'm not letting you die today Jenkins, you have a family to find_.

Alenko had heard of some L3's trying some experimental techniques to augment their strength and speed, pushing the power of their amps to new limits but he'd never seen _anything_ like this. He watched as Shepard became a rough blur before firing her body in Jenkins direction. _That's impossible... she just phased through two solid rocks to reach him..._ Seeing Jenkins get knocked into cover by the reformed figure of Shepard, Alenko hastily formed a barrier over Jenkins' fallen body and started heading up the field, dodging fire from the remaining drones.

Shepard looked up from where she'd come out and dived back into cover. Having checked Jenkins to make sure he was alive, she peeked out of cover to gauge the enemy. _Right, three more drones and one Gas Bag near the back. I need to get them closer._ Thinking on her feet, Shepard hasilty gripped the Gas Bag and yanked it towards the group of drones hoping that the Gas Bag would last long enough to survive the rigorous movement. To Shepard's relief, the Gas Bag proved an adequate improvised biological ordnance. While the drones were not poisoned by the toxic spores, the blast seemed to drop their shields and jolt the power circuitry causing the remaining drones to power down.

"Alenko, get Jenkins back on his feet while I clean up those drones and scout" Started trying to raise Nihlus as she moved to the scattered drones, firing into them to permanently shut them down, "Nihlus, where the hell are you?"

"Commander, there are scores of enemies between us and I'm trying to find a base. What happened?" Nihlus' reply came as close to a whisper as a Turian could produce.

"You're supposed to be the eyes for my squad and we were ambushed by drones. I almost lost Jenkins but we're secure, for now. What have you seen?"

" _Geth_ , Commander. A lot of Geth and they seem to be moving towards a docking area. I've seen a few civilians manage to get away but I've seen more either gunned down or impaled on some sort of spike device. This is worse than we thought Commander. I'm too far ahead to warn you of movements but between us should be around thirty Geth platforms and drones. They seem to be scanning for survivors, not on a discernible route so be wary. I'll update you when I get to the docks. Nihlus out."

 _Great, so much for being the eyes and ears. All you've given me is a number, no positions or fortifications. Are you testing me now? There are civilians being hunted down and you want to assess my combat prowess?_ Shepard turned back to Alenko and Jenkins, who still seemed to be down. She hadn't seen him take any shots but she may had thrown him down with less care than she could've.

"Alenko, what's the status on Jenkins?"

"He's alive Commander but he's pretty knocked up, you did a hell of a number on him when you collided with him. Speaking of which Commander, what the hell was that? I've heard of some of the more adventurous L3's trying to do extraordinary things but that's crazy."

Shepard grinned slightly. Ever since she'd been exposed she pushed herself to master her new found powers and when she had her first implant installed she found the output to be far more stable, allowing her to focus and channel her biotics with greater accuracy. She'd originally tried charging as a means to improve overall efficiency but found that controlling her trajectory became harder without someone, or something, to focus on and after charging into a tree during a training exercise she resolved to refine the technique as a weapon, rather than a tool.

"It's a technique we called 'Charge'. I focus my biotics to project myself at speed and hurl myself at a target. Normally I'd use it to cross an open field and disrupt enemies but it was the only way to get to Jenkins before he came under fire," Shepard explained as she looked down at the battered form of Jenkins. His breathing seemed regular but every other breath seemed to draw a laboured groan from the man. "Keep him still Alenko, I'm calling Chakwas", quickly punched in the frequency to activate the squad's direct comm line to the medbay "Doc, if we dose him with medi-gel can we keep moving or does Jenkins need an evac?"

Chakwas had been studying the squad's readouts more closely once she'd seen Alenko's adrenaline spike earlier and barely managed to comprehend why Jenkins' and Alenko's heart rate had sped up while Shepard's had spiked then slowed for the span of a couple of seconds before peaking again. She'd seen Jenkins' injuries occur as Shepard's heartbeat return to what it should be and knew that Shepard had performed some sort of intensive biotic ability either in Jenkins' vicinity or on Jenkins himself. His wounds could easily be healed in her medbay but while his injuries seemed minor, Chakwas knew that if he took another impact to his fractured ribs that he could easily cause substantial damage without immediate surgery.

"Commander, he has two fractured ribs on his right side. He's okay to move but use the medi-gel sparingly, I need to reset the ribs when you're back here but too much medi-gel will bind them incorrectly. The wound isn't too serious but another impact like the one you just gave him could be significantly worse."

Shepard felt the icy feeling of guild creep over her again. _I put Jenkins in danger by not taking him off this mission. I've hurt him because I instinctively charged at him to knock him down, rather than taking my chances at shooting the targets and expecting him to move. If I can't even lead, or even rely on, two new people without them dying, what makes the Spectres think that I'm anywhere close to being ready_? Shepard willed the thoughts aside and started to administer a medi-gel treatment to the Corporal's right side.

Jenkins looked up from his ribs to see the doubt in Shepard's eyes and knew he was the reason she'd been forced to make a rash decision. He'd frozen in front of a _drone_. Not even a proper enemy, a simple fucking drone and she'd had to blast him out of the way just to stop him from being shot up _._ Jenkins accepted Shepard's extended hand and hauled himself to his feet, grimacing in pain in the process but forcing his body to push past it.

Satisfied that Jenkins was in a fit state to continue, Shepard ordered the two of them to form up behind her while she took point. After Jenkins' last performance she hoped that he'd safe in the back providing suppressing and covering fire to supplement Alenko's biotics, leaving her to weave through the enemies' lines. The trio cleared a dense cluster of trees, dropping a series of drones in a much more clinical manner before seeing a vaguely familiar figure retreating from a series of slabs, placed to create a structure of sorts.

 _She's the woman from the SOS but where are the rest of the people from the broadcast?_ Shepard knew something had to have gone wrong with the rest of the woman's unit but they had no time for that, this woman was running from something and whatever it was seemed to be close judging by the way she kept looking over her shoulder. After a few seconds of sprinting she'd found cover behind a large boulder, either catching her breath or preparing to make her final stand.

That was she saw _them_. Nihlus had said he saw Geth but seeing them first hand still shocked her momentarily. _Why are they here? They've been hidden away longer than Humanity's had spaceflight, why would they emerge now?_ The questions raced through Shepard's mind as she tried to recall anything she knew about combating the Geth. All she could remember is that the Geth were supposedly more intelligent based on the amount of other Geth, a result of their networked intelligence.

Shepard had seen some of the darkest acts of violence in the midst of combat; she'd seen malicious torture done by slavers and soldiers alike, she'd seen cold murder, simply because a prisoner slipped or fell and she'd put bullets in between the eyes of surrendered slavers herself but nothing prepared her for the sight of seeing two Geth platforms almost reverently place a dying human onto a device before it brutally impaled him. _These people were innocent..._

Despite not knowing how many more Geth may have remained in the vicinity, Shepard prepared herself for combat. She refused to let the woman die in such a gruesome fashion. Ordering the others to cover both herself and this new woman, she pushed around the opposite side of the rock as the woman and aimed her Crusader, readying herself to take the shot as the synthetics came into view. Shepard usually preferred using her close quarter biotics, and augmenting her biotics with gunfire but this woman presented an unknown, likely hadn't spent any time fighting alongside a biotic or knew what to expect.

The first synthetic marched into the crossfire, Shepard along with Jenkins firing high while Alenko fired alongside the woman to the centre mass of the target, alerting the remaining Geth platforms that more enemies remained, and these enemies were armed. Half a dozen units moved to intercept the newly registered threat. The group concentrated their fire with Alenko and Shepard pulling Geth platforms about now that the woman was safely behind cover, causing momentary lapses in the cohesion of the Geth forces. After a brief but fierce firefight the final Geth unit fell. Quickly checking her squad's condition, particularly Jenkins' ribs, Shepard rounded on the fleeing woman. Noting the NCO's ranking of Gunnery Chief Shepard began to ask who the stranger was.

"You okay Chief? I'll assume those platforms were after you and the rest of your squad?"

"I'm... I'm okay Commander", the young Gunnery Chief looked distraught as she panted "Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams of the Two-One-Two, ma'am" Williams followed her introduction with the salute of a career soldier.

 _She's looks barely twenty five yet she carries herself like a veteran. Definitely from a career military family._ "Commander Shepard of the SSV Normandy. What happened to you and the rest of your squad Chief, we saw part of the fight on the SOS transmission. Didn't look good before it cut out."

 _ **The** Shepard? Thank God. _ "They didn't make it Commander. Those machines just came out of nowhere and then that strange ship landed sometime after. I don't know if any other squads survived Commander, we were patrolling the dig site when the attack started. Could be resistance closer to the colony, is that where you're headed?"

"No Chief, I'm here to secure the beacon at the dig site until the Normandy ground crew can land. The Normandy went to scout the city, check for survivors and gauge the enemies' forces."

"But Commander... The civilians outside of the city..."

" _I know,_ Chief, but my orders are orders from the top. My orders are to secure the beacon and wait for reinforcements. If you want to go off and fight the Geth, by all means do so but we need all the help we can get right now. God only knows what that beacon contains, if the Geth get a hold of it then this," Shepard waved her arm in the direction of a cluster of ruined industrial buildings in the distance, "Might just be the beginning."

The Chief, much like the others had on the Normandy, looked incredibly conflicted. She'd been given a choice to abandon the colonies' immediate defence to help secure some ancient relic or to march single-handedly into what she knew would be certain death.

"Then you should know, Commander. I just came from the dig site and the beacon isn't there. It was uncovered a few days ago and just seemed like it'd been placed in the middle of the area, maybe like a shrine, I don't know, but the scientists moved it shortly after they uncovered it..."

"Why can't missions ever go as planned?That's going to complicate things." Shepard reached to switch her omnitool to Nihlus' frequency "Nihlus, we have bad news. A marine that was patrolling the dig site said that the beacon's been moved since it was uncovered. Geth presence seems minimal here, Can you confirm?"

"Confirmed, Commander. The Geth seem to be moving further towards the colony itself. If the beacon was moved there it could explain why they're mobilising away from the dig site. Move to my coordinates, should be minimal resistance as most of the Geth left with the main unit. I'm going to move down and scout the dock. I'll radio back when I know more. Nihlus out."

 _Well at least he's our eyes now_ Shepard thought as she sighed,"Williams, I take it you're not a biotic?" A firm shake of the head confirmed Shepard's theory "Right Williams. Me and Lieutenant Alenko here are biotics, I'll be on point. Alenko will lift targets and pull targets out of cover then I want you to take them down. I'll occasionally charge into the enemy, when I do I want the three of you to move in after me and clear up any stragglers. Okay, let's move. I don't want anyone else getting shot today."

Ashley didn't fully believe in the stories surrounding Shepard but she could feel the Commander's presence. If civilians were going to die to secure this beacon then she was damn well going to put a shot in every Geth they saw. _One shot for each marine in my squad that died to you bastards. One shot for each civilian slaughtered and impaled on your spikes. Every last one of you will be reduced to scrap and used to rebuild the lives you've destroyed_ Williams fumed as she fell into formation behind the Commander.


	4. Chapter 4 - Short Fuses

_Eden Prime - Prothean Beacon Dig site_

It wasn't long until the group discovered the purpose of the spikes, along with what seemed to be a horde of the creatures they created. Whatever these people were when they were impaled by the spikes had long been transformed away. Where there had once been skin, a layer of wires now covered their bodies save for the patches of skin where piercing blue lights seemed to pulse. No shred of humanity remained in these, for lack of a better word, husks. Devoid of intelligence and sense, these creatures had risen from the now retracted spike and charged towards the squad.

The husks had proven easy to defeat. The only threat they could pose would be an overwhelming force but with the squad making quick work of any of the transformed humans that they came across, the likelihood of being overwhelmed was a thin possibility at best. The group had made good progress towards the docks and both Williams and Jenkins felt better when they'd managed to liberate two trapped Doctors, one of which had been the head of the excavation. While they hadn't learned anything new about the importance of the beacon, they had at least discovered that the beacon was taken to the spaceport on the edge of the city, waiting to be transferred to the Normandy. While moving on from the pair, Shepard contacted Nihlus to fill him in on what they'd just uncovered.

"Nihlus, we know where the beacon was taken. The scientists moved the beacon to the spaceport in preparation for the Normandy's pickup. I think it's safe to assume the Geth know that by now and are headed there to secure it themselves."

"Agreed, Commander. I'm on the hill above the docks, I'll scout around and see if they left any survivors. I'll rendezvous with you here, there looks to be one more transport docked. Nihlus out."

The same good spirits from helping the doctors had turned sour when Chief Williams found farmers aiding dockworkers smuggle armaments from marine shipments. Williams had seen friends die today and if these people had taken more than a couple of sidearms and mods, a few more soldiers might have survived. The name they'd given was familiar to the Chief, the man called Powell had a reputation as something of a local troublemaker.

 _Why is it that good people always get screwed over by the assholes of society? My Grandfather, my Dad, my Squad... All screwed over yet somehow the ones doing the screwing never get what they deserve. If Powell's alive, I'm going to shoot him. He just about put a gun to the head of my men anyway._ Ashley could barely contain her building rage. She'd trade even one of her fallen squadmates for all of these selfish, lowlife scum. _It's not fair that you live while good marines died today._

Jenkins was torn. His parents worked on the docks nearby and knowing the Geth passed through there he knew they were probably dead. He just hoped his sisters had survived the attack but the other half hated these people for damning the people trying to save their lives. He could see the fury in Ashley's eyes and felt comforted by it. _At least I'm not the only one feels this way, I know Shepard has to keep a clear mind but how can Alenko not feel anything?_ Lieutenant Alenko had kept a neutral expression during the entire interaction.

The arguments between the Chief and the farmers was cut short by the mournful echo of a single gunshot. It hadn't been a Geth weapon, the sound had been explosive compared to the light plinking of Geth rifles.

"Enough, all of you. There may be some patrol units left so stay inside, keep an eye out but most importantly, don't attract attention." ordered Shepard. She could understand Ashley's frustrations but a few sidearms weren't going to turn the battle. This had been a slaughter from the start with the Geth having superior numbers and firepower. She needed to know what, or perhaps more importantly who, fired that shot.

"Alenko, I want a barrier on me from this point forward. I'm not sure what fired that gun but I'm going to assume it's not friendly until proven otherwise. Let's move out, we're close to the docks."

* * *

 _Eden Prime Docks - Five Minutes Before_

Nihlus had finished his sweep of the area and found nothing but smouldering corpses and the fiery remnants of explosions. He'd noted that this was likely where the marines had held a position, the fires likely from the rockets the Geth appeared to be fond of using. He'd heard tales of the Geth being clinically merciless, but no one believed those stories. No one had seen the Geth outside of the Perseus Veil for almost two hundred years. He could understand why they wouldn't take any prisoners, the Geth likely couldn't facilitate captives on their ships, so why waste time capturing live organics but still... the level destruction on this scale was unnerving. The Council were going to love his report.

Broken from his musings by the sound of buildings collapsing, he noticed a figure coming closer to him. _It's not a Geth, but no Human would be so confident as to just walk without looking at their surroundings._ There were Asari and Salarian researchers here at the ruins but no Turians. _No, it can't be him..._ "Saren?"

The figure took a few more steps before stopping to look directly at his colleague "Nihlus, what a surprise to see you here. I thought that ship and that _Human_ you were sent to asses were still back on Arcturus?."

The great Saren Arterius might have recruited Nihlus into the Spectres but over recent years the veteran Spectre had grown colder to his friends, colleagues and even to the Council. Saren was part of the old guard on the topic of humanity, he supported the notion that Earth should have been bombed when the Humans had tried to activate a dormant relay, sparking the Relay Three-One-Four Incident. But worse was the distance that formed between the two of them. For several years after Nihlus' induction into the Spectres the two had been as close as brothers, each one looking out for the other but now the figure that stood before Nihlus looked as much a machine as he did a Turian.

"No, we left early. Both myself and Anderson felt that the communication that was intercepted could cause a problem and it seems we were right," Nihlus paused to think before continuing "Not that I'm going to turn down help against the Geth, Saren, but why are _you_ here?"

"The Council feared that complications might arise. Sparatus mentioned that Valern had become paranoid and convinced Tevos to send another Spectre to ensure the safe arrival of the beacon. I had come back to the Citadel to deal with some personal matters and the Council sent me," Saren struggled to continue his line of thought, wrestling with the intruding thoughts in his mind "Given that the last time that _Anderson_ was involved in a Spectre operation, the Council uncovered Humanity working on AI's, they were concerned that they might have tried to use the beacon themselves."

Saren began pacing, looking around for survivors. He hadn't expected anyone to be here but he had to convince Nihlus that he was telling the truth. Knowing full well that his appearance wasn't expected and that the Council would've told Nihlus that they were sending additional Spectres, Saren had to put on a convincing show, even going so far as to check the bodies for life. Seeing that Nihlus had eased his stance, he knew he'd done succeeded in his ploy.

 _{Kill him, Herald}_

 _No!_ _Nihlus is a friend and a useful asset, we could use him_.

{ _Kill him, he knows too much. The Council must not know what has transpired here, we require your authority. They will take it away.}_

 _NO! Let me... Let me convince him to come with us..._

{ _We have what we require. Your access to the Core and the Elder's influence. This fleshling poses a risk. DISPOSE OF HIM!}_

The final thought sent a pulse of agony through his body. The augments he had been forced to endure hid his flinching movements well enough from Nihlus' watchful gaze that he didn't draw any attention.

"Saren, this looks bad. Why are the Geth here? They haven't been seen outside of the Veil in centuries and they attack _right_ now? How did the Geth even find out about the beacon?" Nihlus began his customary back and forth between Saren, something they'd done for as long as he'd been a Spectre; one would ask, the other would answer until the situation made sense.

"Maybe it's not a beacon, maybe the Geth are looking for technology to integrate into their systems. Whatever the reason for the Geth being here, we need to secure the beacon before they can. Are there others on their way?" Saren had slowly moved around Nihlus, angling to position behind him.

"Commander Shepard has a squad nearby. We should wait for them Saren. This isn't good and I don't know how many more Geth platforms are at the spaceport. I know you don't like Humans but the Commander is a considerable warrior, her aid would turn the engagement in our favour."

 _I'm sorry, my friend. May the Spirits watch over you and forgive me. I do what I must for our people._ "Don't worry Nihlus, everything is under control." All Saren could do was hope Nihlus didn't decide to turn around. He could handle the anger and rage that would come but the betrayal he would see in his friend's eyes would break him and he needed all the resolve he could muster for the tasks ahead. Saren raised his sidearm and took aim at the back of Nihlus' skull and fired a single shot. Nihlus' corpse crumpled to the floor, the once great Turian yet another casualty in the coming war.

 _{His sacrifice will ensure the survival of your species, Herald. Now find the beacon. Time grows short.}_ Saren growled at the flash of pain he suffered every time the voice spoke to him yet he couldn't wait around for the pain to subside. Nihlus had said that Shepard and her squad were coming and another Turian Spectre standing over his corpse would arouse suspicion.

* * *

Ever since they'd heard the single shot the squad had double timed it to the docks, hoping to find either the shooter before they'd managed to escape. Shepard just hoped they'd see who had fired the shot and failing that at least see where they were headed. Fifty meters out the squad slowed to a crawl to scan the environment as they approached, all of them knew that the gunman could still be in the area. Jenkins was the first to notice a corpse with fresh blood seeping out and motioned in that direction. With all four of them inching in the direction of the now obvious Turian body, the squad simultaneously trained their guns in the direction of the scuffling noise coming from inside a nearby crates.

"Don't shoot! Please!" begged the ragged looking man "I work here, I heard what happened."

"You might not want to startle a marine squad next time. Who are you, what did you see?" inquired Shepard.

"I'm a dock worker, a group of us hid when that ship landed," the dock worker pointed in the direction of the immense bulk of the abstract ship "The others thought that they could make it to the marsh and hide there. I don't know if they made it, I didn't want to risk it so I hid inside the container."

The man looked nervous and jumpy, the attack had rattled him but his reactions became even more visceral when his gaze turned towards Chief Williams. _He's hiding something_ thought Shepard, either he knew who Williams was or feared her reaction for something he'd done. The Chief had picked up on his uncertainty and leapt at him, grabbing his collar and slamming him against a crate.

"Do you know a man named Powell?" snarled the Chief

"I'm... My name's Powell. What's it to you?"

That was the man's first mistake. Williams grabber her sidearm and pistol-whipped the man, earning herself a strangled cry of pain. "You greedy bastard. You might as well have killed the marines yourself." Williams smashed the bridge of the man's nose with the butt of her pistol.

While she could understand the Chief's anger at the man, this wasn't how an interrogation was performed, at least not on petty criminals. "That's enough, Chief. You've made your point." The two women glared at each other, neither willing to back down.

Alenko feared what was about to happen next. Williams had started to lose control and Shepard wouldn't allow a loose cannon to jeopardise the mission. He decided to move between the two and try to ease the situation at the same time the battered man cradling his broken nose contributed to the conversation again.

"The one who shot the Turian over there was a friend of his, another Turian named Saren." The two women broke their battle of wills and turned their gaze towards the man. "The other Turian seemed surprised to see him here, said he expected him to still be on Arcturus Station. You crazy bitch, you broke my nose."

"Be thankful that's all I've broken so far, what else? How do you know he was a Turian?"

"They all sound the same, don't they? The other said he was sent by the Council, something about fearing that Humans would try to use the beacon for themselves and him being sent to support the dead one. Then they started talking about where the Geth went. Do you have any medi-gel? I'm starting to get a little dizzy." Shepard moved to administer a small dose to stem the bleeding, she knew he deserved the broken nose but he couldn't give them any information if he passed out.

"At least the bleeding stopped. The other asked if anyone else was coming and the dead guy said someone called Commander Shepard was bringing a squad, guess that's you, and that they should wait to go after the Geth. Then that Saren guy told him that it was all under control and shot him. Strange part was when he started to growl like he'd been hit by something, maybe he actually liked the guy."

This had gone terribly so quickly. _Well I guess that's it for me being a Spectre, suppose it's karma for Torfan._ Despite the setback Nihlus' death had caused, her squad still had their mission. "Okay, we're taking a transport to the spaceport. We can recover Nihlus' body once we've finished our mission but we've still got a beacon to recover and a Geth force to stop. Move out."

* * *

 _Eden Prime Spaceport, Storage Floor_

 _Death. Destruction. Machines. Eradication. Warning. Secret. Hidden._

Saren had activated the beacon and read the message left dormant by the ancient Protheans. _This is what I had to see? What does it mean? All I saw was a series of images that held no instructions._

 _{Return, Herald. You have much to do. Order the other machines to destroy the beacon and leave this planet, you have what we required}._ Saren could only feel relief when the voice invading his thoughts left his mind, and hadn't caused the usual spike of pain. And at least this time the beacon he'd been told to view didn't cause him to blackout. _Did the beacon cause the voice or was I sent by it? It feels so long ago now._ After pushing aside his thoughts he moved to the nearest Geth platform to issue the commands that he in turn had been entrusted with.

"Place the bombs around the site, simulate a Human terrorist attack. Forces are already on their way to disrupt us. Neutralise them and hold position until further orders." commanded Saren. The platform merely blinked it's optical lens in acknowledgement at the Turian and headed in the direction of the stockpile they had brought with them.

Saren had come to appreciate working alongside the Geth, it was far more efficient to distribute orders to a large force which shared its intelligence. And better still was their unquestioning loyalty to him, far more loyalty the Council had ever had for him or even the Turian military. The only downside to the bombs the Geth had procured was the range of the blast. With no major threat to their software, the Geth would endlessly throw their physical platforms at an objective and as a result had little concern about the consequences. The Geth began to place bombs which would level the spaceport and half of the nearby city and while Saren felt relatively safe on his ship he didn't want to risk anything.

Hopping onto his transport, Saren flew off to his ship leaving the Geth to their work. A few minutes passed and the massive space ship began to ascend to the skies. Unfortunately for Saren, Commander Shepard had arrived around the time the ship hit Eden Prime's atmosphere. No one had warned them about the sound it would make, some sort of low pitch, metallic screech.

* * *

 _Eden Prime Spaceport, Transport Hub_

"That thing is far more intimidating when you're close to it. What the hell is that, some sort of Dreadnought?" shouted Jenkins in a poor attempt to make himself heard over the soul chilling roar.

"I don't know Jenkins but I just hope the Normandy stays clear of it. Looks like it could take out an Alliance Dreadnought easy enough never mind a Frigate." Shepard replied, having only a fraction better luck than Jenkins.

As the transport came to a halt, the sound had become tolerable and orders could be given. Singling out the Geth platforms crouching over devices, the group carved a path directly into the heart of the spaceport.

"Chief, cover our flank and move up with Alenko. Alenko, form barriers on yourself and the Chief and Jenkins provide suppressive fire. MOVE IT!" bellowed Shepard. "We can't let the Geth destroy this place or let them take the beacon!"

Convinced that the squad would be able to handle her orders, Shepard broke away and drew fire from the group long enough for Alenko to pull two Geth into a third and bring them down in a crumpled heap. Not content with leaving the Geth in a pile Shepard unleashed a nova blast, causing the collective Geth to explode in every direction.

Both Kaidan and Ashley faltered for a second after witnessing such an unprecedented act of biotic destruction. Ashley had only seen a few Asari use biotics and even then in a utilitarian way, mostly lifting something that couldn't carry physically or specifically in the case of the Asari who worked on the archaeological dig, lifting slabs to save time. What Shepard was doing seem unreal to the soldier. Alenko putting up a barrier which could absorb shots made sense, it was like traditional shielding technology which could absorb the kinetic energy of a bullet, reducing the impact on armour. Should could understand pulling enemies around the battlefield, it was a more practical battlefield form of what she'd seen Asari doing but causing a biotic explosion by slamming her fists into the ground? _What the hell is she? No wonder she could do what she's done, I've never seen anything like this..._

Alenko was handling Shepard's antics a little easier, given that he'd seen her charge through rocks to save Jenkins previously but that still didn't prepare him for the onslaught Shepard had in store for the Geth. _She makes biotics look easy while I'm still using basics I learned at camp. Maybe I should reconsider not getting an L3 or an L4..._

The two supporting squad members progressed behind Shepard, taking out any she'd failed to outright destroy herself but mostly keeping the Geth units trying to take Shepard down at range off of her, either though Alenko's biotics and remarkably accurate pistol shots or Ashley's precise assault rifle shots. Alenko used the downtime between encounters to disarm the bombs they came across, ensuring the spaceport wouldn't be destroyed in the conflict.

"Lieutenant, any idea why they'd dump so many explosives here?" Williams asked, as she disarmed a nearby bomb.

"No idea Chief, I suppose they're trying to cover up the beacon for whatever reason. We'll find out once we've secured the area." replied Alenko as he fired his M-3 Predator into the torso of the Geth platform moving towards the Chief. Nodding to each other they headed further along the path the Commander had formed clearing out any stragglers she had missed.

Seeing that the others had made quick work of the Geth in the immediate vicinity, Jenkins decided to reposition and meet up with the others and ensure he wouldn't be left behind. He wanted to destroy the Geth as much as anyone after seeing what they'd done to his home but Shepard's display had been spectacular. Jenkins didn't even begin to comprehend how Shepard was able to do what she was doing but it looked phenomenal. It wasn't any wonder that people were afraid of biotics if one woman was able to carve her way through more enemies faster than a squad of regular marines. It made a stark contrast to Lieutenant Alenko's smoother, almost refined efforts to control the battlefield.

Shepard weaved through the battlefield like an dancer, charging at Geth platforms before they could raise their guns and blasting clusters of them with nova blasts. She kept an eye on her six to make sure her squad stayed close but she continued to push forward, blazing a path for the others to work with. _Charge. Nova. Pull. Charge. Shotgun. Charge. Shotgun._ She danced around and between the Geth units with a grace and calm that belied her brutally and relentless onslaught. It was only when the last Geth platforms fell that Shepard allowed herself to give in to the strain that had been building up from the constant overuse of her biotics.

 _Too much too soon. I should've pushed as a team. Probably shouldn't have charged as much as I did. Shit! My implant is burning. Chakwas is going to throw a fit._ Drifting into a hazy state while her body was coming down from all the adrenaline pumping through her system, she failed to notice the Geth unit stand up and start a ragged limp towards her. Alenko and Williams were busy disarming the last of the bombs. All Jenkins saw when he rounded on a crate was a banged up Geth slowly making its way towards Shepard. Shepard looked out of it, maybe exhaustion or she'd taken a hit but she seemed to have no idea that a Geth unit had managed to climb back to it's feel and was headed in her direction.

With the Geth between himself and the Commander, Jenkins didn't feel confident with his shaky aim and he simply went with the first thing that came to mind. "Commander, MOVE!" yelled Jenkins as he dove at the Geth. The other three spun around to see Jenkins hurl his body at the Geth unit and bring it down in a loud crash. Shepard jumped to her feet with a readied shotgun and edged towards the jumbled mass of metal and flesh.

"Jenkins, you okay?" Shepard asked, a hint trepidation in her voice. She'd let her guard down, she'd assume the enemy had been finished without checking. Worse still there Jenkins hadn't replied with anything more than a faint grunt. Jenkins appeared to have tackled the Geth unit as it turned to react, an act which caused the Geth to jam what remained of it's arm into Jenkins already damaged ribs and collapsed onto his legs. Hearing no reply, Shepard hit the code to contact the medbay. "Doc, how are Jenkins' vitals?"

"Did you throw him about again Shepard? His ribs just flared up and his vitals indicate that his right lung looks torn. He's also going to need surgery on his left leg. Whatever you've done has really done a number on him." Chakwas continued to run through her analysis over the comms.

"Not helping Doc, is there anything we can do for him here?"

"Not unless you have a sterile surgical suite, no. Keep him stable and do not move him. If he starts to lose conciousness then give him adrenaline. Applying medigel won't help here, his injuries are fairly severe not the scratches you usually try to patch up. Speaking of, you need some medigel on that abdominal flesh wound. It's not serious but it will hold until you're back so that I can stitch and seal it properly. Alenko is fine. We're also going to have words about overdoing your biotics when things quiet down."

 _Just great._ "Understood Doc, holding position at our location. Shepard out" Shepard quickly changed the frequency to contact the Bridge "Ground team to Bridge, beacon secured. We're at the spaceport, send in the marines to secure the area."

"We can see, Shepard. It also looks like the Geth are leaving. Once that other ship took off the Geth started to pull out. The city is secure, the civilians were mostly safe in bunkers, at least the colonists here took precautions. It looks like the Marines did their jobs. We're two minutes out, hold position until we arrive. Normandy out."

While Shepard had been contacting the Normandy to call for an evac, Alenko had gone to take a look at the beacon they'd secured. It looked unusual, a low sloping base but with a distinctly Prothean design. Kaidan had never had the chance to see Prothean technology up close with most technology being closely guarded by the race who discovered it and restricted by the Council. _This is incredible and we found a whole archive full of these on Mars? I wonder wha- oh... shit!_ Without even knowingly doing anything the beacon seemed to activate and draw him in.

Shepard and Williams had just seen to Jenkins when Alenko started to be dragged towards the beacon and looked like he was trying to resist the effects. Instinctively throwing herself at Alenko to knock him out of the pull. The unfortunate side effect was that she herself became had been yanked up as the beacon began to activate. Alenko had just scrambled to his feet just as Williams dragged him back.

"Lieutenant stay back, it's started up! We don't know what'll happen if we try and move her!" yelled Williams

"But what if leaving her is even worse, Chief? It's my fault she's in trouble!"

"We don't know. It's too dangerous to risk it."

He didn't like it but the Chief had a point. He didn't think that the Protheans would create a device that would create a device that would harm it's user but then what did we really know about the Protheans? Maybe it was designed to only work for Protheans and anyone else would have problems? _I'm so sorry Commander, this is all my fault._ All the squad could do was wait for the Normandy to land, hopefully everything would be okay.

 _Death. Destruction. Machines. Eradication. Warning. Secret. Hidden._ The message played through Shepard's mind causing an unnatural searing sensation, almost as if the message was being burned directly into her brain. After a few moments Shepard was thrown away by the blast of the exploding beacon and hurled towards the pair causing Alenko to futilely try to cushion the Commander's fall. Whether it was the beacon or the impact which knocked Shepard unconscious no one could tell, but Shepard was out cold when the others reached her body. The Normandy couldn't come soon enough for the others, this mission had gone from terrible to catastrophic.

* * *

 _Saren's Dreadnought_

A lone figure adorned in an elegant black dress approached the brooding Captain of the ship.

"We have the files on the Human leading the recovery squad. A certain Commander Shepard, someone of a hero figure within the Alliance. It would appear that she managed to overcome the Geth left to defend the beacon and saved the colony."

"Do they have the beacon?"

"No. According to reports the beacon exploded but only after the Commander interfaced with it."

 _{YOU HAVE FAILED ME, HERALD!}_ Immense pain emanated from the voice.

 _I did what you demanded. The Geth are your minions, not mine, and they failed._

{ _My word is final! You were entrusted to destroy the beacon and FAILED!}_ The voice sent another wave of pain through Saren's body.

{ _End them, before they ruin everything!}_

 _ARGHH! STOP!_ It took Saren a few moments to shake free from the agony and stride over to the one who had brought him the message, grasping the figure's face and throat.

"Eliminate the Human. Leave no evidence. She must not be allowed to interfere with the plan again. Your daughter has insights we require, bring her to me."

 _Little Wing... I... I'm so sorry..._ "As you command, Saren."

* * *

 _AN: As you've picked up by now I'm using italics and brackets to separate inner and outer dialogues. I'll also be using the same format that Saren/Sovereign use for Meld communications later on. If it's hard to follow, I'd appreciate any different ideas. Also, am I overdoing the inner dialogues?_


	5. Chapter 5 - The Council's Concerns

_AN: Sorry that I didn't update this last recently, I'd completely forgot that the Star Wars: The Old Republic expansion was coming out and I was woefully behind on just about everything so I've been nerding it up pretty much every day instead of writing. I finally got everything I needed just in time for the general release so I had a chance to go over this again and publish it. Because I'm going to be playing the expansion a fair bit, I don't quite know when I'll update this. I do have chapters done up to Chapter 7, but I still need to review them and apply the feedback I received. Huge thanks to those who have reviewed and liked, it might seem trite because everyone says it but it really is satisfying to see people read and say they like what you've written. You guys are awesome._

 _I'll stop prattling now._

* * *

 _Normandy Medbay – 15 Hours Later_

"Doctor? She's waking up."

"How is she Doc?"

"Will you two stop crowding her?" Chakwas glared at the clamouring pair of soldiers "Let's give her some space as she comes around."

Chakwas could understand their concern, Shepard had put herself in potential danger following Alenko's innocent curiosity and both Alenko and Williams had been left feeling helpless when they couldn't risk doing anything to aid her. Karin had served on ships for nearly 30 years, dealt with nearly every injury a marine could suffer and seen every reaction to injuries but never had she seen such obvious devotion from a squad to their leader. The doctor smiled fondly as she recalled a younger 'Commander' Shepard, even as a child Elizabeth had inspired loyalty from her friends as she grew up on the family vessels andoften encouraging her peers to go on _adventures_ around the ships.

"Your scans check out, everything seems to be back to normal. How do you feel, Commander?"

"Like someone swapped out my rum for ryncol halfway through the night. Looks like we're back on the Normandy, guess I've been out for a while?" grunted Shepard as she swivelled around on the cot.

Alenko chimed into the conversation, trying to explain what had occurred "You've been out since the beacon blasted you away, it's been about 15 hours Commander. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have even gone close to the beacon."

"It's an honest mistake Alenko, what happened?"

"If I had to guess I'd say I somehow activated the beacon by approaching it. Then I started being dragged towards it and you knocked me out of the way. Once the beacon had you raised in the air we didn't know what would happen if we tried breaking you out. It was hard to watch, you know? Knowing it was my stupidity that caused it."

"Don't worry Alenko, I assume the Normandy secured the beacon?"

Williams was the next person to contribute to the conversation "Uh... no, Commander. When the beacon had finished doing whatever it was doing it exploded, sending you flying towards us. You were out cold when we got to you."

"Well, shit. That's going to go down so well with the Council. Nihlus dead, the beacon destroyed by a Human and us with no evidence other than a single worker's word to show that this Saren guy is behind it all."

"That can be dealt with later, Commander" Chakwas interjected "Your vitals might be stable but your body is a little worse for wear. I had to replace your bioamp as you had just about drained it but I'm more concerned with the readouts that I took while you were unconscious. Frequent beta wave spikes and increased periods of rapid eye movement, typically indicative of intense dreaming. So what actually happened when you used the beacon?

But what had she experienced? It wasn't a dream, the sequences of images that she recalled barraging her mind before she passed out barely seemed to make any sense. It wasn't quite a nightmare, more like being forced to witness a handful of memories that someone else had experienced. Maybe a message? No, more like a warning."I... I don't know what happened. I was shown a series of images and scenes, mostly depicting death and destruction. I don't understand a lot of it."

"Hm. I suppose that's more than we knew five minutes ago. I'll add it to the report, perhaps it'll help explain things. I imagine the Council will have extensive questions, I recommend light duties and rest until we return to the Citadel at the least. For the moment all we can do is wait while your brain tries to process what you've been through. I believe the Captain intends to debrief you, he's been butting heads with the Council for the past hour. I'll page him, I would prepare yourself Commander. I've never seen the Captain as agitated as he is," Chakwas paused to ping the Captain's omnitool "I expect you three have a couple of minutes" and with that she turned to scan Corporal Jenkins tucked away in a cot.

"So what happened after I got knocked out? Jenkins is over there and we seem to be moving, I take it we're not on Eden Prime anymore?"

Alenko was the first to reply "Nothing really happened, the Geth pulled out and the Normandy extracted us. Captain Anderson had the beacon and whatever debris they could find stowed in the cargo hold, I guess the Council might still want it studied. We also recovered Nihlus."

Williams followed up "Skipper had the Normandy return to the city and looked towards keeping order until the response fleet showed up, passed on what he knew and left the planet. We hit a relay a few hours ago, other than that no one knows where we're headed. Guess the Citadel, if the Skipper's been talking to the Council."

"But what about Jenkins, how bad?"

Chakwas offhandedly replied in a clinical fashion "Four broken ribs, three on the left and one on the right, right lung torn, shattered femur. As I said on the comms, whatever you did to him this time really knocked him down. Speaking of, what exactly did you do the first time?"

"I charged him down, he just froze up in front of a few drones. I should've realised that he was too attached to the mission to function properly, especially on his first drop."

"You _charged_ him down? I can't imagine knocking a man down would break his man's ribs when he's in armour..."

"I used my biotics to charge at him, it was the only way to get close enough in the short amount of time and make sure he got down into cover. I could've tried to shoot his leg to try and get him to move but we needed to keep moving."

"Well that explains how you managed to all but melt your amp. I'd recommend you don't overtax your abilities again Commander but I'll look into acquiring better, or at least more, military grade amps. If you insist on exerting yourself like that on every ground mission I expect you'll need regular replacements."

Shepard took the jab with a smile. She'd always been cavalier in her approach to combat, in twelve years she'd only had to replace her amp through overuse once, about a year after she was fitted. She'd gone overboard shortly after enlisting. It was only when she'd blown her amp in a training exercise that she realised she had to moderate her usage while out in the field. A drained biotic was a liability, even if she was fitter and faster than most without her biotics.

The group joked for a few short moments until the doors to the medbay shot open revealing Captain Anderson. Everyone could see how the mess at Eden Prime had worn down the usually composed veteran, his sagging shoulders while his face carried a faint grimace.

"Good to see you've finally decided to wake up Commander. Is she fit for duty Doctor?"

"I recommend light duty, the Commander will need rest to help process what's happened. I can't imagine she'll get much in the coming days."

"I'm afraid not, Karin. I'll let her rest once I've asked a few questions."

"Make sure you do Captain. Otherwise I'll confine her to the medbay and the Council can talk to her on the ship."

Anderson grunted in reply. He knew that Chakwas would fiercely defend anyone under her care and ensure they received all of the treatment they required. It wouldn't the first time that she would've overruled a commanding officer's orders, in fact it was something she was infamous for within the admiralty. The crew's health came before the Captain's orders and while Anderson respected CMO's who would contest a Captain's decisions on medical grounds, some Captains felt undermined by the process. Gesturing for Shepard to follow him to his office his thoughts lingered on the idea of the Council being forced to come to the Normandy and deal with a fiercely possessive and territorial ship's doctor in order question Shepard. Smiling for the first time since Eden Prime, he led Shepard across the mess and into the privacy of his cabin.

Not one to mince words, Anderson cut straight to the matter at hand, "So how do you really feel?"

"Like shit, Anderson. I feel like someone's gripped my brain and slammed it. It sort of feels like when I first used my biotics. But what I don't get is why we didn't know this Saren guy would be there. Surely the Council would've let Nihlus know? I assume he would've told us, seeing as Saren killed him."

"I honestly don't know, but I don't need to tell you how bad this looks. The Council's outraged over Nihlus' death but they're furious at the loss of the beacon and bemused that we think Saren was involved. Councillor Sparatus flat out laughed at the claim when I said a dockworker had pointed the finger at him."

"I don't like this Anderson. I can understand no one knowing the Geth would be there. I can understand the beacon exploding seeing as we don't know how old it was or how drained it was. But what I don't get is why Saren would kill Nihlus?"

The Captain ceased his pacing for a moment before pondering his question, "How much do you know of Nihlus and Saren, Shepard?"

"Not much. I assume they're connected outside of the mission?"

"Yeah, you could say that. Saren was Nihlus' mentor and trained him as he became a Spectre. I mentioned before that I've had run-ins with Spectres on previous operations but Saren is a mean piece of work. Presumably he fought in the First Contact War, I don't know if the power got to him and fed his anti-Human beliefs but he's been reportedly one of the bloodiest Spectres to date."

"So Saren killed his student? A friend? And all we've got is some petty smugglers word. Just _great_."

"Ambassador Udina is working to try and resolve some of the situation but I'll be straight with you Shepard, you are the only one who can set this right. We've got the vid feed from your visors to give to the Council, that should at least back your report. I'm not sure what the Council will make of Williams' outburst with the smuggler or Alenko's curiosity with the beacon but none of the evidence condemns your squad."

"Not that it's the biggest issue here, but how do I stand on Spectre candidacy? I imagine with Nihlus dead that I'm screwed?"

"We don't know. Like I said, the evidence at least proves that you conducted yourself admirably and you accomplished the objectives you were tasked with even if the mission was a failure. I think it's safe to say it's at least delayed, but I think you will be given another chance."

"At least the Normandy proved to be effective, that ship didn't fire on us when we arrived or when it started to leave for the atmosphere. If nothing else, that was a success."

"Your optimism does you credit, Shepard. I do have one question though."

"Of course, what is it?"

"When the hell did you learn to charge like that? Last I remember the most powerful technique you could use was that one you called 'Nova'.

"Me and a bunch of L3's were experimenting a few months ago between missions. You know how it is, no one dares spar with me for fear I'll rip their arm off or something and biotic sparring scares the shit out of everyone. So instead of sparring we were pushing the limits of what we could do. One of the guys mentioned he'd seen an Asari merc seemingly fly across a warehouse they'd been sent to investigate. A few of us managed it when we tried then but this was the first time I've had a chance to properly test it on a battlefield. Seems I overdid it though, burned my amp out."

"I'm tempted to send a copy of your combat feeds to Hannah. I'm sure she'd love it."

"Anderson, you know as well as I that you'll get so much shit from her for doing it. Hell I'm curious to see if she'll put in for emergency leave just to give it you in person."

"Hah. Go and get some rest Shepard, doctor's orders. You're relieved from ship duty until the Council's finished with you. We'll be back at the Citadel in a few of days. I'm afraid you're going to busy when we dock."

"Understood, though with this headache I don't think I'll be doing much."

* * *

 _Normandy Cockpit – Citadel Approach_

Shepard, Alenko and Williams had all crammed into the cockpit to see the ship dock at the towering space station which had been the centre of the galactic community for over two thousand years. Five sprawling arms stemming out from an inner ring with a single tower sprouting out from the inside of the ring. The Citadel was the second of two great legacies they'd left in the galaxies after they vanished, the first being the Mass Relays.

Out of the group only Joker had seen the Citadel, part of the basic Flight School training had been making repeat trips to the Citadel in order to familiarise the hectic docking procedures. Since the Citadel had essentially become the centre of the galaxies economy, it maintained an endless flow of traffic from the nearby relay. Ensuring that order could be maintained and every ship could be allocated safely to a dock often meant that operator interactions with pilots were brisk and faltering pilots could become a danger to others.

And then there was the Citadel Fleet. Over a hundred frigates and dreadnoughts dedicated to the role of protecting the Citadel, Widow relay and all Terminus System relays which linked to Citadel Space. While primarily consisting of Turian frigates, the section of the fleet in proximity to the Citadel contained a substantial number of Salarian and Asari vessels, including the towering Destiny Ascension. With the Ascension being more than four times the size of a Human or Turian dreadnought, it dwarfed the other ships in the defence fleet. Even Shepard, who'd spent most of her life on larger ships, felt awed by the mere sight.

Williams, having never left Alliance territories, had barely even considered the size of the other species' ships. It took her a few seconds to place the Ascension as an Asari vessel, the sloping hull and generally elegant design set it apart from the other more practical, mundane ship designs of the Turian and Salarian contingents.

"That ship is huge, is it part of the Citadel fleet or Asari fleet?" Williams asked.

Alenko leaned to look out of the starboard window in the direction where Williams had been staring, "That would be the Destiny Ascension. Flagship of the Citadel Fleet, commanded by Matriarch Lidanya."

"Pfft, like size matters. I bet I could fly circles around it in the Normandy, whittle down the barriers and blow the engines" Joker chimed in.

"Compensating for something Joker?" joked Williams.

"Not that I don't I have every confidence in your ability to fly but with even a fraction of the firepower the Ascension has, the Normandy would be decimated" chided Alenko.

Shepard couldn't help but smile. Williams had been on the ship less than a week and already felt comfortable joking with the crew. She'd been right in her assessment that Williams was a career soldier, "Take us in Joker, might as well get this over with."

Spending time with politicians and the press wasn't something new for Shepard. After both Elysium and Torfan she'd been thrust in front of the camera for interviews from a plethora of stations, most notably the Alliance News Network and Westerlund News, and been ordered to recite written speeches which attempted to deflect her actions and focus the attention on the battles themselves. Not that it had mattered, the ANN and WN had both released hero profiles of her following the interviews which emphasised her actions over the countless others who'd fought and died. The only difference this time would be that her actions were now under scrutiny of the highest governing body in the galaxy, not some petty reporter or minor politicians.

"Citadel Control, this is _SSV Normandy_ requesting permission to dock"

"Permission granted, begin your approach. Switching you over to an Alliance operator" replied the voice.

"Roger, beginning Citadel approach now. Normandy out"

To the operator's credit, it only took a few seconds for the Alliance Tower operator to reply and point them to dock 422. As the Normandy gracefully eased into it's assigned dock, Captain Anderson joined the group in the cockpit and reached for the intercom.

"Now we're docked on the Citadel, everyone has leave during your off-duty hours. I don't know how long we'll be here so ensure that you are in a fit state to serve if we are required to make a swift exit. Navigator Pressly has command, carry on" Captain Anderson took his finger on the intercom buzzer and turned to the ground crew assembled in the cockpit "Right, you three will come with me to Ambassador Udina's office. We need to know what we can do to salvage the situation. Joker, I expect you to have left your chair by the time we return. That's an order"

If Anderson seemed phased by Joker's grumblings he didn't show it, merely nodding towards Shepard and proceeded to exit the Normandy. A gruelling elevator trip down to C-Sec Headquarters and short trip up another elevator towards the Presidium brought them to the embassies, one for each of the races represented in Council space; Asari, Salarian, Volus, Turian, Elcor and Hanar. The group had barely entered the Human embassy before being rudely greeted.

"You're late Captain Anderson, I've already had to delay the Council _twice_ ," growled an irritated Ambassador.

Thankfully the Ambassador only had a slight Irish accent, even on ships it was common for for people to retain their accents. On board the Normandy, a frigate of less than fifty souls, there were at least four notable accents and on a small colony there were typically over a dozen. As Humans were the most recent race to discover the Citadel, they'd found the Salarian translator device to be invaluable, allowing them to integrate into the galactic community much faster. The device itself was a scientific marvel, constantly updating itself with each race's different languages and dialects.

"And I see you've brought a small squad with you too. I don't think the Council are going to be intimidated by a show of force, Captain."

"Knock it off Udina. Lieutenant Alenko and Chief Williams are here to answer for themselves if the Council requires their testimony. Commander Shepard will come with us to the Council," retorted Anderson, "I'm fully aware the Council asked for Shepard specifically, not the full ground crew. My experiences with politicians have left me wary of anything, so I'm preparing for the worst."

The tension between the two men broke when a datapad pinged from Udina's desk. "It looks like the Council know you docked, they've _requested_ our presence in an hour. Captain, come with me. Commander, I expect you and your squad to join us presently.". Udina crossed the room like a tempest, leaving Anderson shrugging before following after him. The trio were left looking amongst themselves before Williams finally broke the silence.

"I really, really hate politicians ma'am. And Udina makes my blood boil." Williams cursed causing Shepard and Alenko to burst out in laughter with Williams joining in soon after.

* * *

 _Presidium Tower – Council Chambers_

"I thought that elevator was just going to keep going." groaned Shepard as they piled out of the shuttle.

Ashley continued with a laugh "I know what you mean... and that music? I wanted to shoot the speakers."

The Lieutenant looked at his companions and seemed confused "Really? I thought it was quite soothing. Repetitive, but soothing."

"Are you serious LT?"

"Yeah, I actually started tapping along about halfway up."

"We need to get you out more often LT."

As the trio emerged from the corridor, they overheard an argument between two Turians, one they recognised as Executor Pallin from his uniform, the C-Sec liaison to the council. The other looked to be a C-Sec office, judging by the heated discussion with the words "investigation" and "evidence" being thrown around. The word which finally piqued Shepard's attention was "Saren."

"It's over Vakarian. You were given time to conduct your investigation and you failed to find any incriminating evidence against Spectre Arterious. I want Spectres brought to heel but we both know the Council defend their decisions, even if those decisions are detrimental to the safety of the Citadel. You have been ordered to cease your investigation immediately," droned the Executor before turning to leave and noticing the group approaching. "Commander Shepard" acknowledged the senior Turian and he proceeded back towards the elevator.

"Commander Shepard, I'm Garrus Vakarian. I am, or was, the officer in charge of investigating Saren's actions."

Deciding not to cause any more trouble for the frustrated Turian, Shepard merely offered her hand before speaking "Hello, Garrus. I didn't think that C-Sec would actually need to investigate Saren? I assumed C-Sec's authority stopped at the Widow Relay."

"For the most part, yes. We do sometimes deal with internal investigations for the Council and luckily the Spectres fall under that. We wouldn't normally be part of this particular investigation but Saren's had numerous complaints lodged against him and this seems to be a breaking point. The Council will defend him, that's certain, but he's only allowed to act in their interests and not his own. I hope you've got something better than I had, apparently selling secrets and profiteering weren't enough for them to force him to come in."

"Commander, we're almost out of time. The Council meeting starts any minute now." Alenko added as he checked his omnitool.

Shepard nodded to acknowledge the Lieutenant "Yeah, I hope so too. Good luck, Vakarian. Somehow I don't think this will be the last time we run into each other."

After leaving the Turian officer to move through the Atrium, the squad headed up towards the raised platform at the far side of the expansive room. At least Humanity was providing aesthetics to the Council chamber, Shepard noted as they passed a row of cherry trees. She lead the party to the waiting pair of Captain Anderson and Ambassador Udina, the latter once again railing at the Captain.

"Good, you're here. I can't stress how important it is to let me do the talking Commander. You military types have a habit of speaking before thinking and the Council will pick you to pieces. Remember, these people have been controlling the galaxy since before the Roman Empire came to power," warned Udina. "Come, we're expected."

The Citadel Council. Comprised of an Asari, Salarian and Turian Councillor, they were the primary authority in Council Space. Councillor Tevos, an Asari Matriarch spoke for the Asari Republics. Councillor Valern, an aged Salarian represented the Salarian Union and finally Councillor Sparatus stood for the Turian Hierarchy.

"We do not appreciate being delayed, Ambassador. First you claim that a Spectre was to blame for an assault on a Human colony and then you have the nerve to make us wait," Councillor Sparatus growled "I warned you that this would be a farce, Councillors."

"Enough Sparatus. We could have solved the matter several hours ago but you were the one who insisted on having the Commander present," Councillors Tevos and Sparatus merely glowered at each other before the Asari continued. "As Saren has yet to report in, we shall discuss the matter of Commander Shepard's Spectre candidacy today and continue tomorrow with the inquiry into Saren."

"You chastise us for a delay you imposed yet you refuse to criticise a Spectre when he fails to answer?" challenged an irate Udina. Unfortunately for the Human ambassador, instead of securing an advantage in the political argument that had been brewing he merely earned a venomous glare from the Turian Councillor.

After a tension breaking cough, Councillor Valern was the next to speak "Commander Shepard, we would hear your recounting of the events at Eden Prime. Please, bear in mind that this has nothing to do with the allegations against Saren Arterius. From the beginning if you would."

Despite mild protestations from Ambassador Udina, Shepard took a step forward and began her report to the Council, starting with the approach to Eden Prime, Nihlus taking the scout role for the ground squad, removal of the beacon, finding Nihlus' corpse, disarming the bombs and finally the accidental usage of the beacon. She went on to suggest that the Council could analyse the events more precisely by reviewing the feeds from herself, Lieutenant Alenko and Corporal Jenkins. Finally she mentioned that Captain Anderson had the remains of the beacon recovered and stored as a precaution.

"We have seen the visor feeds provided by Ambassador Udina and your version of the events matches those from the recordings. While it wasn't what we were expecting we will take possession of the remains, perhaps our engineers can see if anything remains. However, despite your ability to complete the objectives the mission was an failure. The death of Spectre Kyrik is unfortunate but the loss of the beacon is disturbing," Councillor Valern paused read the expression on the Commander's face "Once again, Humanity fails to succeed when given a Council directive. Is the legacy of Humanity's contribution to the Galaxy to be one of continual failure?

Shepard, while admirably keeping her rising anger in check, began to counter the barbs fired her way "I struggle to see how the failure of the mission is a _Human_ problem, Councillor. I don't know how else Humanity has failed in the eyes of the Council but no one, not even Nihlus, expected the Geth to be present on Eden Prime. Not to mention the beacon shouldn't have been active in the first place, to me that suggests that someone or something managed to activate it after it had been moved to the spaceport."

"Mind your tone, Commander. Humanity as a whole has blundered through the galaxy, a prime example is the Lieutenant's reckless approach of the beacon" sneered the Turian Councillor.

"Again, Councillor, how were we to know that the beacon had been activated? All reports filed from the dig site indicated that the beacon had been all but inert, simply registering a small power flow. Going from that to full power is a huge step. Someone had to activate it, and if the Asari and Salarian scientists at the dig site failed to activate the beacon then I doubt a transport worker managed to activate it."

Ambassador Udina had begun to worry, Shepard had quickly become confrontational with the Councillors and while she had told them only the truth, he wasn't sure that they would allow her behaviour to continue. Deciding that it was the right time to play his gambit, Udina interrupted.

"If I may, Councillors. The mission wasn't a complete failure. Upon interacting with the beacon and for the hours afterwards while recovering, Commander Shepard reported seeing visions. We had suspected the beacon had been a minor information repository, seeing as it paled in comparison to the size of the Mars Archives or even to any of the lesser archives that have been uncovered beforehand."

Having stood quietly during the proceedings so far, the Councillor Tevos finally added her voice to the others "Visions, Ambassador? That was your last resort? This was a chance for you to prove that our trust in you hadn't been misplaced and you offer us visions and dreams as evidence?"

"Councillor, the medical reports confirm that Commander Shepard's brain had been working far beyond natural standards and that only occurred after interacting with the beacon. The likely reason is that her brain had been trying to process the vision."

"I don't get to speak for myself?" rumbled Shepard "Councillors, when I interacted with the beacon I was subjected to a series of images and scenes depicting synthetics destroying organics. I don't recognise the figures or locations but the theme is consistent. Death, destruction and a warning. I don't know how else best to describe it but they are more than dreams or nightmares, whatever it is I've had to witness was something the Protheans felt they had to leave behind."

"Yet we are at a loss, Commander. The only evidence from the beacon resides in your mind alone and it would appear you lack the knowledge to interpret what you have been given. However... there is one way we can verify your claims."

Udina looked like he was about to burst "Absolutely not Councillor! I will not allow an Asari to probe the Commander's mind."

"While I agree that it is the only way to confirm the Commander's story, there is a distinct lack of trustworthy _unbiased_ Asari on the Citadel, Tevos." posed Valern.

Councillor Tevos rolled her eyes before her next suggestion "Well, I suppose there's Sha'ira..."

"You consider the owner of an overpriced and overblown brothel to be an unbiased medium, Tevos? Why not just ask any passing Asari, I can't see how that would be any worse." retorted Sparatus.

"I do wonder how you would know that it's overblown, Sparatus, but more importantly I wonder why you don't already assume she knows more than enough to bring any of us down. It's no secret that she _entertains_ prominent figures from every government," Councillor Tevos seemed lost in thought for a few moments before speaking up again "What about Dr. T'Soni? She might be young but she _is_ a Prothean expert."

"Matriarch Benezia's daughter? She hasn't been back to Thessia in years, how long would it take to locate her?" Councillor Valern inquired.

"A day, maybe two."

"Find her, have her brought here to examine the beacon's remains and the vision the Commander carries" ordered Sparatus.

"As for Commander Shepard's Sprectre candidacy, consider the matter on hold. We are prepared to accept that the fault does not lie on her shoulders. We will discuss the matter further once the accusations against Saren are dealt with, you have one more day to gather your evidence. This meeting is adjourned" proclaimed Councillor Tevos, as she brought an abrupt end to the session.

If Udina looked furious before finding out that he'd been deftly manoeuvred around and made obsolete then he looked absolutely livid after being played by the Council and left hanging.


	6. Chapter 6 - Unlikely Alliances

_Human Embassy_

"Those Jackals! They'd already decided what to do yet they played us regardless and worse still they insist on delaying the Saren investigation." snarled Ambassador Udina

"They played _you_ Udina. You're the politician here, not us." replied a rather smug Captain Anderson. "However much of a fool they made you look Ambassador, their deliberation have given us another day to find something on Saren. I don't know what we could hope to find but I have an idea of where to start looking."

"Start looking? There's nowhere _to_ look Anderson. Everything we have has already been given to the Council. You saw them, they've already decided to dismiss the claims against him. The only thin silver lining is that Shepard could still possibly become a Spectre, and that's a _very_ thin line at this point."

Having had enough of the Ambassador's cynical and pessimistic attitude Shepard interjected, "Have you actually taken the time to look at the C-Sec investigation findings, Ambassador? C-Sec turned up some interesting things, notably how Saren seemingly sold Council Secrets. Can we do anything with that, maybe dig deeper than C-Sec had time to?"

"That's what I was trying to get to Shepard, before I was interrupted" Anderson cast a glare at the Ambassador "Barla Von. He's a Volus financial consultant but there's a rumour going around that he passes on information to the Shadow Broker. I'm not sure C-Sec tried asking him but at this point, we need anything we can get. I have some things to discuss with Alliance brass, hopefully they come back to Saren but if not we need something solid. Try Barla Von and if he doesn't have anything, try that Sha'ira woman, maybe she knows something. Good luck Shepard"

Captain Anderson marched out of the room without even giving Udina a glance. Seeing him leave in such a way forced Shepard to consider what had happened between them. In the years she'd known the Captain, he'd never been easily agitated just talking to a politician. She knew he loathed them, he'd been pretty clear on his opinion of the previous Human Ambassador Anita Goyle whenever someone brought up politics but he'd never been quite so abrasive when he'd had to interact with them in the past. Shepard brushed aside her thoughts about what plagued Anderson and questioned Udina about who Sha'ira was and where she could find Barla Von.

"The galaxy's most expensive escort can be found opposite the embassies, across the lake. Barla Von can probably be found near the trading floor further down the Presidium. Don't get your hopes up Commander, I have no doubt that both know something but I highly doubt either will part with their information." Udina switched the display to the C-Sec findings, his eyes lit up and immediately he had another suggestion for Shepard to follow.

"I suggest you talk to a former C-Sec Officer named Harkin, he owes me a favour and he could probably find this Vakarian who's in charge of the Saren investigation, the Executor keeps a tight reign on all active officers so I doubt any would simply tell you where he is. You'll likely find him drunk somewhere in the Lower Wards, probably Chora's Den. Whatever you do just make sure you're not late tomorrow. Now, leave. I have other issues to deal with."

Having been abruptly dismissed the trio made their way towards Barla Von and the trading floor, mostly as they all agreed that any information Sha'ira could give them would either be out of date, based on rumour or too expensive.

"Alright, I'll go and talk to Barla Von alone. Probably best if we don't go in and intimidate him, we don't know how he'll respond. While I'm inside check the trading floor for anything we need back on the ship; mods, weapons, armor or anything else you think will help us later on," Shepard, seeing confused faces, expanded on her orders "If I know Captain Anderson, no matter what the Council say we'll continue to run missions. I want the marines and the ground squad fully prepared for anything. And then there's that Dr. T'Soni, we don't know if Saren used the beacon but if he did he'll also need someone else to help him understand the message."

"Commander, do you really think they'll send us to fetch Dr. T'Soni after Eden Prime?" asked Alenko.

"Sure, I don't see why not. They already know that we did everything we could as the ground team. The issue is between the Captain, Ambassador Udina and Council, not us. We should proceed as if it's business as usual. If nothing else anything you can grab from the trading floor we can use when we're rolled back into one of the fleets, probably the 5th."

Williams was the first to respond "Understood Commander. The armoury needs filling out, what we've got is good but we could use more of it. Who do we charge acquisitions to?"

That stopped Shepard for a second, she hadn't cleared this with Anderson and while he would approve of her taking the initiative to improve the capabilities of the ground crew, it would still be money out of the ship's budget. She felt a sudden pit form in her stomach, no doubt when she got back to the ship she'd have a severely depleted bank account.

"I'll give you my chit, be reasonable with what you buy but don't get the cheap stuff. I haven't talked with the Captain about spending the Alliance or ship funds, but I'll put in for reimbursement. Prioritise, whatever we can't get now we can get later." After tentatively handing over her chit and outlining a particular mod she couldn't get a hold of on Earth, she headed into Barla Von's office in search of answers.

While Barla Von couldn't give Shepard any information on Saren's activities or whereabouts, he did point her in the direction of a Krogan Bounty Hunter currently in the employ of the Shadow Broker, the downside being that he'd arrived on the Citadel a few days earlier and none of Von's informants knew where he'd disappeared to. After deciding that the information was almost useless, Shepard headed down to the seediest lounge on the Citadel, Chora's Den.

* * *

 _Lower Wards – Chora's Den_

If sleazy could exist as an entity, it would take the form of Chora's Den. The bar may have been labelled as "A Gentleman's Club" but the patrons were anything but, usually drunk before they even stumbled in and taking advantage of the scantily clad staff. It didn't take long before Shepard realised that wearing her regular form-fitting armour was a mistake, it only took a few seconds to start drawing the lustful eyes of the nearby patrons. Sighing as she barged past the leering crowd, she heard someone call out "Harkin needs some ass, ladies!" and saw the noise originated from an alcove nearby. As she approached the man, Shepard braced herself for the inevitable.

"Oh yes, you do have a sweet little ass Princess. Why don't you sit down and have a few drinks and we'll get to know each other." Harkin had has his eyes on Shepard the second she walked into the bar and the thought of stripping her out of that tight armour had been more than enough to get his blood flowing.

"I'd rather drink of a cup of acid after chewing on a razor blade, you're disgusting Harkin."

"Oh come on Sweetcheeks, girls like you just want a man to take control. We'll take it slow, just have a few drinks."

"Shut it Harkin. I'm not here to drink with you or put up with your shit. You're going to tell me how to find Garrus Vakarian." People like Harkin were the worst, the types who considered their behaviour acceptable because few to none had ever told them otherwise. Just being near a man like Harkin on a regular day made her skin crawl but today she wasn't taking any crap. Flaring up her biotics just enough to prove a point, she began with her threats "You're going to tell me where I can find him or I'm just going to blast you through the wall."

"Whoah, hey lady I don't want any trouble," Harkin scrambled to his feet away from his chair and backed into the form of a hulking Krogan. "Look I don't know where he is right now, he usually spends time around a clinic not far from here. Shit, just don't melt me or whatever the fuck you freaks do."

Something he'd said seemed to set the Krogan he'd bumped into off as within a few short moments Harkin had been smashed down to the floor by a massive fist. Unsatisfied with his efforts, the Krogan raised a leg and brought it down with bone shattering force on Harkin's knee, crippling him and forcing Harkin to let out a pained scream. The large Krogan simply let out a roaring laugh.

"Hey, you. No fighting in the bar," shouted one of the nearby Krogan Bouncers as he moved towards the commotion. Fights weren't typically big issues but a bar brawl between a well armed Krogan and a bunch of drunk civilians would end in a bloodbath and the club closed down. "Fist won't see you and breaking the patrons won't change that."

"The scrawny little pyjak deserved it, I would've shot him but then Fist would _never_ come out and see me" snorted the battle-scarred offender.

"Fist has already said no, Wrex. C-Sec has been called. Leave or they'll force you to leave."

"I'd like to see them try, whelp." Shepard was convinced she saw the crimson-clad Krogan smile as he threatened the bouncer.

Deciding that now was a good time to make a quick exit before she found herself caught in a crossfire between a bloodthirsty Krogan and C-Sec, Shepard swiftly made her way out into the alleys only to be met with an unnatural silence. Shepard didn't need to be an N7 graduate to know that everything seemed far too quiet _._ She'd seen well over a dozen people idling around outside just over ten minutes before and now they'd all disappeared, even those too drunk to stand. Silence was something you rarely heard on the Citadel even this deep down in the wards.

"There she is, make sure she's dead!" called out a voice "Don't forget to bring the body with us, Saren wants no loose ends!"

With the hidden leader ordering his band of assassins to attack, a dozen or so enemies began to trickle out to confront the Commander. All Shepard had on her person was a standard issue N7 Eagle and her biotics to fight with but without her usual helmet it meant that she couldn't fight them like she would have preferred. A quick assessment of the situation revealed that she would need to relocate to avoid being flanked by the encroaching foes. As she moved back, Shepard realised that neither Alenko or Williams would know she was here and pinged both their omnitools with a simple "Help."

The advantage Shepard had, however, was that she could move without worrying about civilians as they had either moved on or already been disposed of. Weaving her way backwards and picking off the unfortunate few who didn't stay in cover. The general plan was to force the assassins to group up and then blast them with a nova and possibly scavenge a more powerful weapon to turn the battle in her favour.

After about a minute of frantic dodging and trading fire, Shepard had managed to take down four aspiring assassins but she was slowly running out of room to manoeuvre and the assassins didn't seem to be falling for her plan to cluster them up. Within a few minutes the assailants would overwhelm her position. At least they didn't act like professionals. They seemed more concerned with their own survival and lacked any real organisation outside of the leader urging them forward. What really concerned Shepard at that moment was that neither Alenko or Williams had shown up yet. She still couldn't take them on in a direct engagement, even if her moderate barrier held from the gunfire she still couldn't risk a stray round above the neck.

The assassins might well have succeed in taking Shepard down if not for the timely intervention of agitated Krogan Harkin had barged into. The remaining assassins had only expected to fight a Human, maybe a couple of armed Humans, and they had prepared themselves for that. They definitely hadn't prepared themselves for a Krogan Battlemaster blasting them with both a Claymore and potent biotics. As Shepard sprang into action, she saw the figures of Alenko and Williams emerge and witness the carnage. The massacre that ensued was both brutal and swift as the combined forces of the complete ground team and the Krogan made quick work of the would-be assassins.

"That's two fights you've gotten into, Human. That's the second one I've finished for you, it will not happen again" growled the Krogan Battlemaster before he took his leave of the area.

To Shepard, the pair seemed shaken that their squad leader had been caught in a gunfight without them. They'd joined a brawl between Shepard, a Krogan biotic and over a dozen assassins, none of which appeared to be wearing any distinguishing marks, only to see Shepard come out unscathed.

"Commander! I'm sorry it took us so long to get here. All of the elevators are so slow on the Citadel, are you okay?" a concerned Kaidan asked as the pair approached.

"I'm fine, I'm just pissed that I didn't have a helmet or visor on to record that. Saren sent them, it would've been a good start to bringing him down. I'm never leaving the ship without full armour and at least my Crusader after this."

Ashley followed the Lieutenant's question with one of her own, "Who was that guy? Should we go after him, ma'am?"

"I think his name is Wrex. He was in Chora's Den near me and Harkin, one thing lead to another and he shattered Harkin's knee. Then he came out a few moments before the two of you and gave me the chance to strike back."

Ashley couldn't contain her smirk as she asked, "He said that was the second fight Commander. Couldn't resist punching Harkin?"

"Harkin? Oh, when he'd been leering at me and then asked me to sit down and enjoy a few drinks. I skipped the pleasantries, flared my biotics and threatened to blast him. He backed into the Wrex and called biotics freaks," Shepard finished checking her armour and weapon before she continued "I'm glad you two are here now though, Harkin told me where Garrus Vakarian should be. I just hope he's found something else we can use."

After appropriating an undamaged helmet from one of the fallen, Shepard led the reformed squad through the lower wards in the direction of the nearby clinic, hoping that Vakarian could give them what they needed. The main thought flowing through Shepard's mind was that they could only hope Saren hadn't sent another group after the C-Sec officer.

* * *

 _Lower Wards – Med Clinic_

As the squad approached the clinic, the sound of shouting put them all on alert. After the incident outside of Chora's Den, Shepard wasn't taking any chances especially now as it wasn't just herself.

"Listen up. We don't know how many people are in there and whether any of the staff are in danger. I'm going to go in and try and talk them down, I want you two to hang back and not antagonise them. Alenko, if they look like they're about to fire I want you to form a barrier on any hostages. If they open fire, aim above and force them down Williams. With me, move in."

The squad breached the clinic entrance to find a lone female doctor being held by a small group of men, each brandishing a gun in her direction. The man circling around the Doctor looked to be the leader of the thugs, judging by the fact he was the only one wearing anything resembling armour. What surprised the squad the most was the form of Garrus Vakarian prowling around cover, pistol drawn. _Don't do anything stupid, for the love of God, just don't_ Shepard prayed as she inched forward.

"You're hiding something, Doc, and Fist doesn't like it when people aren't honest. You're going to tell us everything you know about that little suit rat..." the man loomed over the Doctor, forcing himself into her space. By the time the man had gotten within a few inches of the Doctor's face he saw Shepard's squad in the clinic and immediately made to grab the frightened woman, "You... Stay back. This isn't your concern. Turn around and le-." A bullet tore through the man's skull before he could finish his terms.

"Take them down, Shepard! Take them down before they hurt Dr Michel!" yelled Garrus while he rolled across the hallway and back into cover.

"We'll talk about your actions when we're done, Vakarian. Everyone, into cover!" As soon as Shepard issued her order, Alenko and Williams dived for cover near Shepard and immediately began following their initial orders; suppressive fire and barrier support. The squad couldn't push into the enemies with Dr. Michel still in the crossfire which left them only one choice; they had to move Dr. Michel. After motioning to Alenko to get ready to pull the Doctor while she and Williams covered his actions, she yelled to Garrus to get ready to fire.

Alenko flared his biotics and began to pull Dr. Michel towards the group and away from the thugs, all hidden in cover thanks to the suppressive fire from Shepard, Williams and Garrus. As soon as the Doctor had been moved safely out of the way, Shepard charged at the emerging Thugs and immediately set about ending the conflict. A swift biotic charge was followed up by a physical throw, bowling three more of the thugs over in a mess of limbs and creating a prime target for a nova. To Garrus' credit, he didn't flinch when Shepard barrelled towards the group, instead he held back his shots until a clear opportunity presented itself, the last remaining thug poking out to take a shot providing him with just that.

"All clear, Alenko how's the Doctor?" Shepard surveyed the damage. A total of six dead, four by her hand, one by Garrus' opening shot and another taken down after she'd charged. It was obvious that these men had been sent to intimidate the Doctor and hadn't expected anyone else to intrude.

"She's a little shaken up but otherwise fine. It could've been a lot worse if we hadn't got here in time" Alenko replied while helping the poor Doctor to her feet.

"Agreed. Speaking of, what the hell was that Vakarian? Does C-Sec usually shoot targets in a hostage situation before trying to talk them down?" She wasn't angry about him killing the thugs, no doubt they deserved it if they worked for someone like Fist. What had riled Shepard up was the severe lack of consideration for the consequences on Garrus' behalf.

"Dr Michel is fine. They would've fired at me and and I would've kept them busy long enough for C-Sec to intervene, I've already pinged HQ with an alert, they'll be here in a few minutes."

"And what if they'd used Dr. Michel as a shield or simply killed her? It sounded like they were more interested in plugging leaks rather than ensuring silence."

"Shepard I didn't have time, I'm here because of a lead on the Saren case. I know you only have the day to find evidence, we can stand here arguing over whether or not I made the wrong decision or we can track down this lead and bring Saren down."

The revelation of Garrus' reason for being reckless didn't make the situation any better. They needed something on Saren and whatever Garrus had in mind was something they desperately needed but his methods put the Doctor at risk. Shepard strode over to the recovered Doctor before she started asking her questions.

"I'm glad you're okay Doc, I take it that Garrus was chasing up on your information?"

"Yes, Commander. I asked Garrus to meet me here so I could pass on a data disk. It appears I made the right choice, those men somehow knew that I'd contacted Garrus. I suppose my clinic had been bugged, I shouldn't be surprised. C-Sec's presence in the wards is often stretched and criminals fall through their net." The recovered Doctor paused for her breath, "I'm babbling, Commander. If you're working with Garrus then I won't bother with a disk. You need to find a young Quarian girl named Tali'Zorah... I um... I pointed her in the direction of Fist."

Shepard's eyes narrowed with mild suspicion, "If those thugs worked for Fist, why would he send them back after you?"

"Fist works for the Shadow Broker, the Quarian wanted to trade her information for protection. When she came here she was scared out of her wits. It took me threatening her with C-Sec to let me help dress an exposed suit compartment. Once she calmed down a little she said she had information about the Geth and and invasions, I can't be sure if she was starting to go through delusions as a result of a suit exposure, but I thought the information might be worth trading to a Shadow Broker agent. After she left, I contacted Garrus and asked him to meet me. Apparently she'd tried giving the information to C-Sec before and petitioned for an emergency Council appointment but had no luck."

"That's why I was here, Shepard. Whoever this Quarian is, she might be the link to Saren we both want to find. If you'll have me, I'd like to come with you."

Shepard looked Garrus up and down. _He_ _is_ _a good shot and Fisk does have a lot of manpower at Chora's Den..._ she mused,"Garrus, if you're coming with me then we're doing it my way. We don't put civilians at risk, agreed?"

"Agreed, Shepard. If we're headed to Chora's Den I have a suggestion for where we could find some more help."

"I'm listening. I've seen combat at Chroa's Den once already today and I have no interest in taking chances there again."

"There's a Krogan named Wrex currently being taken to C-Sec Headquarters, I'm told he has something of a problem with Fist. You look like you have biotics well in hand, but Krogans are among the most lethal brawlers in the galaxy and I doubt that Fist will come quietly." suggested Garrus.

"We've met. I guess C-Sec must've picked him up just after he left us, we'll grab him and head back to Chora's Den. He wants to kills Fist, just make sure he holds off. At least until we have the information we need, if we lose that evidence we're completely screwed. Let's get out of here before C-Sec shows up, I don't think they'll appreciate the body count."

If C-Sec sent any officers were sent in response to Garrus' alert, they weren't dispatched from the Headquarters. Even though she had barely spent ten minutes with the Turian, she could tell that the lack of response had unnerved him. He'd relied on C-Sec to back him up when he planned to engage the thugs and they hadn't come through for him. Barely a word was said between the four of them during the trip and in the elevator, leaving the only sound coming from a news broadcast reporting on a missing survey team out in the Hades Gamma Cluster.

While the Normandy may have been docked above C-Sec HQ, they barely had time to take in how large it was. While C-Sec HQ wasn't as grand as the Presidium, it still provided a sleek and elegant look with high ceilings and open spaces. C-Sec HQ was the beating heart of the Citadel, with most of the key functions performed on the Citadel being based there. Luckily for the group, no matter how expansive the C-Sec Main Hall was, a fully armoured Krogan still stood out like a beacon. Wrex happened to be surrounded by a few C-Sec officers all trying to keep him under control.

"I don't care if Fist made a complaint about me, if I see him he dies. And I'd just love to see you worthless pyjaks try and stop me." Shepard couldn't tell if Wrex was laughing or grumbling but judging by his arrogant stance and a lack of fear or intimidation, she presumed he was laughing, "And if C-Sec brings me back here one more time I'll see just how soft you whelps really are-."

"One more threat like that Wrex and I'll have you spaced." The officer in charge of handling the situation didn't do a good job of showing his confidence, his voice wavered as he tried to stand his ground.

"Wrex? I'd like it if you didn't get arrested. I have a proposition for you and it'll be hard to do that while fighting off C-Sec." Wrex looked up from his little argument and saw the group approaching him.

"You again. Do you have another fight you can't win? I can't imagine a Turian and a couple of Humans would improve your odds."

"I prefer a Krogan approach to combat Wrex but being ambushed by a dozen assassins with nothing more than a pistol, my biotics and no helmet, I wasn't in a position to get my hands dirty, as it were."

"If you took a Krogan approach, you wouldn't need a weapon, Human. What is it you want? I have other business that needs to be taken care of." Wrex rumbled.

"It's actually about Fist," the mention of Fist seemed to grab the Krogan's attention, "We believe he's in possession of some information that we need. I doubt he'll simply give us the information willingly so we're going to force him to give it up. You have an interest in Fist's life, I have an interest in his information. So long as I get what I need, he's all yours to do with as you please."

"I am going to kill Fist and _anyone_ that tries to stop me. I was hired to kill him by someone who doesn't appreciate failure."

"Killing him a few minutes later won't change anything. We could've simply gone to Chora's Den without you, consider this a small thank you for your help before."

" _Fine!_ Talk to him if you must, I just need his omnitool as proof. I'd call you Human, but there's three of you."

"Commander Shepard. Welcome aboard, Wrex." Surprisingly, it was the Krogan who offered his hand in agreement first. Shepard gladly took it and started to discuss a basic battle strategy for the strange group as they headed back down to Chora's Den.

* * *

 _Lower Wards - Chora's Den_

More silence. It was apparent to the group that Chora's Den had been shut down for the evening as the music was usually audible a small distance away from the establishment. Fist was definitely expecting trouble, though whether or not he was expecting a group of people or simply just the Wrex was the question on everyone's mind. Even Wrex seemed happy to take the slow approach, knowing that Chora's Den provided plenty of room for Fist's thugs to hide.

"Remember Wrex, I want information. He's yours once he gives it up."

"I heard you the first time. I've been doing this longer than you Humans have even been in space, let's get this done so I can get paid."

After receiving a nod from everyone, Shepard and Wrex smashed down the doors to Chora's den to begin the fight. Just as they'd predicted, close to two dozen thugs and workers were hidden behind cover and waiting for an attack. Their layout for cover seemed rushed as they'd tipped over tables all around the club, giving Kaidan, Ashley and Garrus plentiful choice for cover. True to her word, Shepard engaged the enemy as a Krogan would; directly and with superior power. She still only had her pistol but the dark lighting and scattered cover gave her the advantage. Wrex took a similar approach, going straight for three men all hidden behind a long table. Rather than going around the cover, Wrex simply charged into it and broke through, scattering the helpless thugs for Ashley and Garrus to pick off. As the others settled into their rhythms, Kaidan provided barrier and helped to disrupt enemy positions by pulling enemies out of cover.

After charging to an enemy and blasting his chest with a few rounds from her Eagle, Shepard was sure she saw Wrex giving her an approving nod. The group worked their way through the club, whittling down the number thugs that Fist had under his control. Despite Wrex's grumbling about letting warehouse workers go, the group made quick work of Fist's small army. Fist himself proved to be no more than a minor threat after Kaidan and Garrus shut down his personal defence turrets and Wrex sent the man flying across the room with a biotic punch.

"The Shadow Broker will have your hide for this Wrex, he doesn't like it when you kill his operatives"

"Hah. The Shadow Broker was the one who hired me to kill you, it seems he dislikes double agents even more" Wrex followed his taunt up with another brutal punch to the stomach.

Shepard quickly stepped in before any more harm could come to Fist, "I thought we agreed that I'd get information before you had your fun Wrex, if he can't speak then we've got a problem." Wrex replied with nothing more than a savage growl.

"A Quarian was sent to you by Dr. Michel, where is she?"

"Why would I tell you? I'm a dead man." Almost as if to emphasise the point Fist spat out a mouthful of blood. It was clear that another punch or two from Wrex would be enough to put the man down for good.

Shepard moved between Wrex and Fist and winked at Wrex, hoping that he wouldn't cause a problem. She slowly walked towards the slumped figure of Fist and crouched down to speak into his ear.

"I have no intention of letting Wrex kill you, I need to find the Quarian. If it turns out the information you give me is a lie then Wrex is free to do as he pleases. It's up to you, Fist. You can either leave here a bloodied, living, man or you can die at the hands of a somewhat pissed off Krogan. Your choice, which will it be?"

It's incredible how quickly someone's stance changes when given the choice to survive, before Shepard had given him the choice he was willing to keep quiet just to spite them and when Wrex's lips curled into a malicious, sadistic grin he figured that his odds of survival were good if he worked with Shepard. The Quarian was probably dead by now, Saren's last remaining assassins should've taken care of her by now, but that wasn't his fault. He was confident that he could get Shepard to spare him if it came to that.

"On my desk there's an OSD. Saren's agents planned to have the Quarian killed, the information she has concerns a conversation about Saren and Eden Prime. She came to me looking to trade the information for protection, she thinks she's meeting the Shadow Broker in person in an alley nearby, you probably passed her on your way here. The meeting is soon, if you want to save her you'll need to run." Fist's eyes looked hopeful as Shepard broke away from his stare.

Kaidan tossed the OSD to Shepard who quickly verified his confession. "Remember, if she's not there then Wrex still has his way."

"Why would I lie? I'm not stupid enough to get on your bad side, _Commander_. I know you'd kill me, it's not like you had a problem killing hundreds of prisoners on Torfan."

"Good, he's all yours Wrex. Meet us at the Quarian's location when you're done."

"Heh heh heh. I'll be there, Shepard." Shepard and the rest of the group turned to leave and catch up with the Quarian, leaving a screaming Fist and a laughing Wrex behind them.

She probably shouldn't have let Wrex kill the man but he was working for Saren now and he was right, she had no qualms about leaving him to Wrex. They quickly left the club, stepping over the fallen thugs along the way. They only had a few minutes to get to the Quarian but thankfully they was close enough that they didn't have to sprint all the way there.

* * *

 _Lower Wards - Back Alleys_

As they approached the location on the OSD they overheard the distinctive sound of a Quarian's modulated voice talking to another Turian.

"Where is the Shadow Broker?" the Quarian asked.

"You didn't really think the Shadow Broker would meet you in person, did you? Even Fist doesn't know how he is" retorted the Turian.

"I agreed to meet the Shadow Broker in person, not some lackey."

"Well then, it's fortunate for me that this has nothing to do with the Shadow Broker. Saren wants what you stole, little girl. Hand over the recording and I'll bring you to Saren. Or we," the Turian gestured to a pair of nearby Salarians,"Can just kill you and take you to Saren." The Turian's laugh as cut short as the Quarian tossed a small grenade at the pair of Salarians and dove for cover.

Sensing that the Quarian didn't stand a chance without any support, the group dove headlong into the small group. With only three enemies to take out the fight barely lasted a few seconds thanks to the combined firepower of four guns.

Almost as if nothing had happened, Shepard casually strode over to the prone Quarian and helped her to her feet."Kheelah... thank you. If you hadn't shown up when you did, I would've been dead by now. I knew I couldn't trust Fist!"

"Fist's been dealt with, you're safe now."

"That's two things I am in your debt for. Forgive me, but I'm sure you can understand my concern; who exactly are you?"

"My name is Commander Shepard of the SSV Normandy, this is Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams and C-Sec Officer Garrus Vakarian. We're here because we believe you have evidence regarding Saren's recent endeavours."

"I can give you what you need but we should get out of here, I don't know if anyone else is after me." the nervous Quarian added.

"Come with us to the Embassy, Ambassador Udina will need to see what we have and it's a safer place than here."

"Let's go, Comm - GET DOWN!" the Quarian screamed.

Shepard quickly spun around and shielded the Quarian from the potential attacker but the only figure advancing in their direction was Wrex dragging another squirming Salarian along with him.

"Shepard, I found this one waiting outside the door. I heard gunfire as I got here, he with them?" the lumbering Krogan nodded towards Saren's fallen lackeys.

"Looks like it." In response Wrex raised the Salarian to his eye level and headbutted the wimpering henchman, "Right, let's get out of here."

* * *

 _AN: A little late for the EU but for anyone reading this on the day in America, Happy N7 Day!_


	7. Chapter 7 - Fallen From Grace

_AN: I'm sorry about the usage of some in-game dialogue and structure here, but I don't feel like there's a better way to write some of it. I'm trying to keep as much of the dialogue original, even if it is based on the in-game script, by expanding on it as I go. I also apologise for maybe going overboard with the amount of dialogue, short of glossing over everything to forward the story, there is minimal action in this chapter._ _It also occurs to me that I should've ended the previous chapter with the first section, it's a little late to go back and change it._ _  
_

* * *

 _Presidium - Human Embassy_

Shepard had barely made it three steps into Embassy before Udina began another tirade, "Commander, do you realise how much of a shitstorm you've raised? Two firefights at Chora's Den and another at the Med Clinic? Do you have any idea how many laws you've broken in just a few hours?," Udina turned around to look at Shepard and her guests, "I see you've brought an assortment of aliens with you, is there any reason or are you just showing people around for the hell of it?"

"So you don't want to see the evidence that will prove Saren's a traitor?" Shepard snapped at Udina while gesturing towards the Quarian.

" _What?_ I apologise, it has been a stressful day so far. Could you start at the beginning Miss...?"

"My name is Tali. Tali'Zorah nar Rayya. I was on my pilgrimage, a Quarian rite of passage, and I began to hear news that Geth had been seen outside of the Veil. I followed the reports to an ice planet that the Geth had landed on, waited until one of the platforms split from the group and I disabled it."

"But how did you manage to grab the information? The reports from the Eden Prime clean-up work confirmed that any attempt to dismantle a Geth platform resulted in the Geth's memory being fried." Captain Anderson strode across the room as he asked the question.

" _My_ people created the Geth, we are still taught how to disable them while trying to minimise the damage. Even then, it requires a lot of luck to find data caches that still have any useful information. Most of the core was wiped clean, part of the defence mechanism your people encountered on Eden Prime but I managed to salvage this from the platform's audio banks"

 _{Eden Prime was a major victory! The beacon has brought us one stop closer to finding the Conduit...}_

"That's him! This is what we needed Udina, we can prove that Saren was behind the attack!" the usually calm Anderson was replaced by an increasingly enthusiastic one.

"But what exactly is the Conduit? I think it's safe to assume that whatever I saw when I interfaced with the beacon, Saren also saw." Shepard had been pacing while she spoke only stopping to rub her temples, "The ache isn't as bad as it was yesterday but we need to find something to help me understand what I've seen, we need to find Dr T'Soni before Saren does."

"There's more. There's two voices in the audio log, Saren wasn't working alone." Tali hit a few more buttons on her omnitool and the rest of the recording played.

 _{Eden Prime was a major victory! The beacon has brought us one stop closer to finding the Conduit...}_

 _{And one step closer to the return of the Reapers.}_

Everyone stood in silence for a few moments, taking in what they'd just heard. Saren wasn't working alone, he had a goal other than wanting to bring Humanity to it's knees and it involved something called the 'Reapers'. The only one who didn't seem bothered by the news was Wrex who simply went over to a nearby couch and dropped himself on it, mumbling something about Krogans and big scary monsters.

The relative silence was broken by Shepard, "Does anyone here know what a 'Reaper' is? The Council won't take action without evidence, Eden Prime is a fantastic example of that."

"What little I could scrape from the memory banks indicates that the Geth believe the Reapers are a hyper-advanced machine race that existed around the time of the Protheans. It goes on to explain that the Reapers hunted the Protheans to extinction and then simply vanished. We never programmed the Geth to develop imaginations, they were programmed to analyse and assimilate information. If the Geth truly believe this, it has to be rooted in fact."

"Be that as it may Miss Zorah, this revelation about the 'Reapers' seems a little far-fetched. Still, we have the evidence against Saren and that's what's important. Mythical tales and delusions about an ancient race of machines can wait."

"I don't think they're myths, Udina. One of the scenes from the beacon seems like a warning about machines."

"Maybe, Commander. But until we know more there isn't anything we can do about it. I suggest you get some rest, Commander. I intend to push for the Council to send you to fetch Dr. T'Soni, we need you at your best."

Before the Commander and the Alliance crew left for the Normandy, Shepard took the time to thank and ask the others to meet up with them again at the Council Chambers. Tali and Garrus agreed to join the the squad during their meeting with the Council in the morning while Wrex took some persuasion but at least agreed to stay on the Citadel. Shepard had thought that the Normandy could at least use Tali, if should accept to coming along, as a Geth Expert and possibly asking Wrex to join them, giving the ground squad more biotic options. She still wasn't sure about Garrus. He'd accepted her command willingly during the assault on Chora's Den and he seemed capable in a fight, she simply didn't know if he would even want to come along. If they were going to go after Dr. T'Soni or after Saren, she knew they needed all the help they could get. Shepard doubted that she would actually find sleep, but at least going back to the ship would give her a chance to prepare for whatever the Council would decide.

* * *

 _Presidium Tower – Council Chamber_ _s_

The Council chambers seemed abuzz with activity as the group waited for the Council session to begin, there were well over one hundred dignitaries, mostly Human and Turian, milling around the room and on the balconies. Even the waiting plaza below seemed to have more people simply waiting for an announcement, clearly nothing was a secret on the Citadel. While the group had arrived early and taken their position near the petitioner's platform to wait, no one could see any of the Councillors and the scheduled meeting was to begin in a few minutes time.

The first Councillor to emerge was Sparatus, bearing as much of a furious scowl as a Turian could. Udina's lips curled into a smile, he knew that Sparatus' mood could only help to benefit his case, having your main adversary in a position where he could easily lose himself to his anger and make a mistake was just one more weapon in his political arsenal. What surprised Shepard the most however, was that Sparatus seemed to be throwing glares at _her_ specifically. She could understand his resentment towards Udina, the man was a terrible example of the best Humanity could offer, but the glares he threw in Shepard's direction contained only loathing and resentment.

A few moments later Councillors Tevos and Valern emerged from the same door as Sparatus had, giving away that they had likely had some form of meeting to decide how they would approach the coming session. That also served to explain why Sparatus seemed to be so thoroughly pissed off, the decision they had come too had likely been the opposite of what he wanted. Udina could hardly contain his smirk at this point, Sparatus was definitely a nerve he could expose in the coming debate and with the decision looking increasingly to be sympathetic towards Humanity, Udina felt confident about their chances, a fact he openly expressed to the group. It was only when Ashley let out an audible gasp that the group turned to look at the towering hologram that had sprung to life and taken the form of one Saren Arterius.

Councillor Tevos spoke up, "I call this Council to session. Ambassador Udina, we are here to discuss your accusations regarding Spectre Saren Arterius' involvement in the offensive on Eden Prime. We have already reviewed the evidence you have submitted, do you have anything you wish to add?"

"After the session regarding Commander Shepard's Spectre candidacy and the news that this meeting would take another day, Commander Shepard was sent to uncover any information she could find-" started Udina.

"Evidence obtained by starting small skirmishes and firefights in public. I told you she wasn't ready yesterday and this proves it." growled Councillor Sparatus.

Ambassador Udina quickly asserted himself again in the wake of Sparatus' interruption, " _After_ following up on the lead provided by C-Sec Officer Garrus Vakarian, Commander Shepard came across Miss Tali'Zorah nar Raaya. Miss Zorah had evidence that supported our claim, recovered from the audio banks of a Geth platform during her travel to the Citadel. Miss Zorah, if you would?"

Tali nodded and began to play back back the message through her omnitool...

 _{Eden Prime was a major victory! The beacon has brought us one stop closer to finding the Conduit...}_

 _{And one step closer to the return of the Reapers.}_

Everyone in the room was silent, even the image of Saren. Sparatus's glare was tinged with surprise and Valern merely looked curious at the revelation. Almost a minute had passed before Udina chose to press his advantage. Saren's voice was unmistakable, the collective gasp in the atrium confirmed that, but what Shepard noticed was Councillor's Tevos reaction to the second voice. Councillor Tevos had visibly paled. It seemed that the Councillor recognised, or at least thought she recognised, the second voice.

"Does that suffice, Councillors? I call for Saren to be stripped of his Spectre status and be brought to the Citadel, we demand justice for Eden Prime!"

"I fail to see how this is credible evidence against me, Councillors. How can you be sure that the Humans haven't paid this Quarian to say what they want? Doesn't it seem oddly fortuitous for Commander Shepard, of all people, to uncover an audio log containing exactly what they needed? Humans are still such rash and impatient creatures, this fabrication is proof of that." drawled Saren.

"And we bribed a Turian C-Sec Officer, a Human Doctor and a Krogan Bounty Hunter as well? You've made a mistake, Saren." retorted Udina.

"No, Ambassador, you made a mistake when you believed I could kill Nihlus, a long time colleague and a friend. I care little for any attacks on Human colonies, Humanity fumbles it's way through the Galaxy and shouts the loudest when things don't go their way. Your species should learn it's place before you begin to make demands."

"And what of the dock worker? He claimed to have heard Nihlus and yourself talking before hearing a gunshot."

"The testimony of one dockworker who didn't see me, only heard me? You're clutching at straws Ambassador, scared witnesses are easily manipulated."

"The video evidence from the Normandy's ground squad shows otherwise. The Normandy was still scouting the colony, no one had even seen the man and during the first contact he named both yourself and Nihlus, no one knew the Normandy would arrive a day earlier than planned, no one knew what time they were meant to arrive and no one, outside of the Spectres, Council and the Admiralty even knew that Nihlus was on board. Enough games Saren, you started a war and you will answer for it."

"Ah yes, the first contact with the man where he was beaten within seconds. You will learn how the Galaxy works on day, Ambassador. Councillors, put an end to this session. This has gone on far too long, we have far more pressing matters to attend to."

"You will remain until we are satisfied, Saren." Surprisingly, it was Councillor Sparatus who rebuked Saren, Saren merely rumbled in response.

"They're looking to blame someone for Eden Prime, they're attempting to make the best of their own failures by forcing the Commander into the Spectres and Captain Anderson's past grievances have painted me as an easy target. Such a poor course of action, but what more could you expect from such an infantile race?"

It came as no surprise to many gathered in the Council chambers that Saren was attempting to charm the Council into seeing the argument while belittling his accusers, this wasn't the first time that Saren had been brought before the Council to answer for his actions. Saren, much like many of the Spectres, had a natural charisma which saw many of his adversaries persuaded to see things his way. The problem for Saren, however, was that Captain Anderson, Commander Shepard and the rest of the group weren't taking the bait with his continual goading.

The gradual chatter continued to rise as the spectators grew increasingly interested in the proceedings. While no one was actually surprised that Saren would participate in an attack on Eden Prime, his loathing of Humanity was well known and admitted, but few would believe that a Council Spectre would willingly incite a potential war. And then there was the hint of racial animosity between the Turians and Humans; while Saren's potential actions were condemned by the Turians, Humans were also blamed for their lack of preparation, foresight and arrogance when colonising worlds beyond Earth.

Shepard had minimal experience dealing with politicians, but even she could see the argument was going nowhere. The Council were reluctant to believe one of their agents would be so callous and they were dragging the session along while Udina would likely throw their advantage sooner or later by falling for one of Saren's baits. The rising noise of those watching was only silenced when Councillor Tevos held her hands up to call for silence, after the Counci's brief discussion during the intermission.

"The evidence against you is compelling, Saren. You will return to the Citadel where you can prepare your case, you are still a Spectre but this is a... troubling development. This isn't the first time that you have been involved in actions against Humanity, even disregarding your past with Captain Anderson. Do you have anything you wish to say?" Councillor Tevos could see that the situation was becoming increasingly volatile, she knew that she had to try and find a diplomatic solution and fast.

"You are being fooled, Councillor. My work cannot be interrupted. _I_ will save countless lives by continuing down my path and _I_ will not be torn from it. If you want to waste time indulging Humans and their dreams by all means do so." Saren drawled.

"My visions are from the beacon, and I'll guess you've seen them too if you think you're trying to save people. What I don't understand is why you had the Geth try to bomb the beacon. You had to realise that we would've found evidence of the Geth, which would've meant the bombing would never have been a terrorist threat. That leaves bombing the area to ensure the destruction of the beacon, which again comes back to the question of why. What do you hope to gain by keeping the warning to yourself?" Shepard continued to walk forward as she spoke, eventually coming to a stop when she reached the end of the platform.

Councillor Tevos quickly spoke up, "Return to the Citadel Saren, if you have indeed seen this 'vision' as well as Commander Shepard then we need to see it. Dr. T'Soni will verify what you have seen and we can move from there."

"I have already dispatched a force to recover the Doctor." The hairs on Shepard's neck rose. Dr. T'Soni was in danger, Saren was as ruthless as they came, even if he took her in alive there would be no guarantee that she's remain alive once she had shared her wisdom with the Spectre.

" _You_ will return to the Citadel, Saren and the Commander will fetch Dr. T'Soni. You've already jeopardised the integrity of the Spectres with your refusal to acknowledge orders. Do not force our hand Saren." Sparatus growled as he cast an baleful glare the figure of Saren. Every Turian was born and raised to follow orders, to respect the chain of command and to sacrifice themselves for the cause if necessary, but Saren wasn't doing anything of the sort. Saren flagrantly refused an order and defied the Council's authority.

"Do what you will, Councillors. I will do what I must and my results will justify my means, as they _always_ have."

"Then you leave us no choice, Saren," Councillor Tevos shared a brief look with her fellow Councillors, "Spectre Saren Arterius, your rank and privileges are removed. You no longer serve the Council, you no longer have the authority to act in the Council's name and you will be hunted down by your former comrades. You are fully aware of the consequences should you resist."

"Send them all, it would be a true test of my capabilities. Tela relies on the sheer force of her biotics alone while Jondum skulks in the shadows, the only other Spectre worth considering was Nihlus, may the Spirits watch over him. The rest of the Spectres pale in comparison, they have grown lax in recent history with little to do other than monitor events for the Council."

"Councillors, I have a suggestion," Shepard looked towards her Captain and squad and received nothing but enthusiastic nodding and encouragement, they knew what she was about to suggest, "Send me."

Surprisingly, the first sound came from the image of Saren. The first sound was more of a derogatory snort which was quickly followed up by some mangled combination between a laugh and a growl, "You aren't ready, Commander. You can barely control your biotics, you were exhausted before you touched the beacon and you lack any meaningful experience. Nihlus may have believed you were capable but he was one of very few. I suggest you run back to your Alliance, Commander."

"Saren... is right. It's too soon, she needs another mentor," Councillor Sparatus spoke up, torn over agreeing with his fellow Turian "Send the others, this is a Spectre matter. If the Alliance, or any other military body, are seen sending forces into the Attican Traverse, there will be an uproar from the Terminus systems."

"We have discussed this at length, Sparatus. Commander Shepard has continually proven herself in the face of extraordinary odds. This mission would be no different."

As soon as Tevos stopped speaking the background chatter grew into an uproar, Turians and Humans arguing over the choice of the Commander, several Asari and Salarian delegates also shared their concerns and even the Volus Ambassador, Din Korlack, seemed to be in an argument with the Elcor Ambassador Calyn over the competency of the Alliance. The Councillors took the opportunity to once again confer before calling for order, their decision made. It was Councillor Tevos who spoke first.

"Commander Shepard, step forward. It is the decision of the Council that you be given the powers and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance Branch of the Citadel"

The Council each confirmed a command on their pedestals before resuming. Each Councillor spoke a line of the traditional induction speech, displaying the unity and solidarity of the Council and their decisions.

 _Spectres are not trained, but chosen. Individuals forged in the fires of service and battle, those whose actions elevate them above the rank and file._

 _Spectres are an ideal, a symbol. The embodiment of courage, determination and self-reliance. They are the right hand of the Council, instruments of our will._

 _Spectres bear a great burden, they are protectors of galactic peace, both our first and last line of defence. The safety of the galaxy is their's to uphold._

"I shall enjoy watching you fail, Commander. You are out of your depth while playing with forces you cannot comprehend. We shall see each other soon, I'll make your death quick our of respect for Nihlus." Almost everyone had forgotten that Saren had still been present and all but Commander Shepard seemed taken back by the former Spectre's gloating. Saren's words didn't phase Shepard but in the split second before the figure disappeared she saw Saren raise his hands to clutch his head, almost as if he were in agony. It was a small victory knowing that your enemy was rattled before the fight had even begun.

"You are one of Humanity's greatest hopes now, Spectre Shepard. Your actions, your decisions and your results will reflect on Humanity as a whole. I trust you will live up to your impressive standard?" Councillor Valern

"I'll try, Councillors. But it won't just be my efforts that take down Saren."

"Of course. Saren no longer holds the influence he once had, his previous allies and servants will abandon him when they hear the news. If you can bring Saren back alive it would be helpful but you have the authority to kill if you are left no other course of action. If you can bring him in alive then we have methods at our disposal to uncover the depth of his betrayal. Before you depart, I wish to speak to you privately regarding Dr. T'Soni. She is the daughter of an old friend and I believe I may be able to provide some insight."

"Understood, Councillor."

"Remember, Commander. All eyes are on you. There can be no room for mistakes, Saren is a dangerous foe and he will not hesitate to use _every_ tool at his disposal." Sparatus' voice was tinged with anger, the events preceding the meeting and the results of the current session had taken their toll on his patience.

* * *

 _Presidium Tower - Great Hall_

There was a never ending amount of ambassadors, delegates and military officials all looking to meet with the freshly promoted Human Spectre. Even those who questioned Shepard as the choice or Alliance as a whole all sought to offer their congratulations and words of good luck in her hunt. She was used to attention, it had been like this after Elysium; endless requests for interviews, PR events to drive up recruitment and all the rest. It had been a welcome reprieve when she faded out of the attention of the public, it let her get on with what she signed up for and get back on duty. This however, was worse. Much worse. It was easy to turn down an interview, you could simply palm it off by claiming that the Alliance was in charge or that you had a meeting to attend but it was impossible to shake all the dignitaries when they cornered you in the Great Hall.

Captain Anderson and Ambassador Udina had abandoned her and were deep in discussion, no doubt Udina was badgering Anderson over some political ploy he'd conjured up after the meeting. Garrus, Tali and Wrex were all off to one side, talking to one another and looking increasingly out of place. Tali was wringing her hands again, no doubt feeling a little nervous that Saren was still at large. Garrus looked mildly irritated, the impetuous Turian likely thought that all this fuss was a waste of time and Wrex simply looked _bored._ Kaidan and Ashley were engrossed in conversation near the Captain, the pair no doubt discussing the fate of the Normandy and whether or not they'd be a part of Shepard's mission.

It took almost fifteen minutes until Shepard was free to return to her squad. It wasn't that she disliked the idea of talking to journalists, politicians or civilians, it was just that they didn't seem to grasp the practical nature of a soldier's work. Politicians wanted to laud your successes as part of a campaign, journalists wanted to make a name for themselves by warping your words and actions into their own twisted version of the tale and civilians just wanted to be able to say they'd met a hero in the making. Sure she'd been given briefings for public speaking after the Blitz but it wasn't ever something she felt natural doing.

"Shepard, we've come up with a plan." Anderson beamed at Shepard.

"About that Captain, what's going to happen to me? I can't exactly perform my Spectre duties on the Normandy, it's meant to be rolled into the Alliance rather than the Citadel Fleet. I told the Council that I wouldn't be doing this alone, and I don't intend to, but I sort of assumed I'd be doing it with my own team."

"You let me worry about that. I'm pretty sure it's going to piss a lot of people off but frankly Shepard, it's the only way forward."

"Your plans have always been the right ones, Captain. I'm all ears."

"Udina and I have to arrange it first, Admiral Hackett should be amenable but we'll need some political pressure too. Meet us back at the Normandy in say, five hours, and hopefully we'll have some news. If all goes well you'll be off the Citadel today, it might be worth seeing if Councillor Tevos can see you." Anderson caught Shepard sparing a glance towards the non-Human contingent of the group and immediately suspected his protégé's plan, "Miss Zorah would be an excellent advisor on the Geth and a little Krogan muscle wouldn't go amiss if you're chasing down Saren. I guess you also want to ask Vakarian too?"

"I represent the Council now, I need more non-Humans around me to help encourage the idea that we're open to cooperation with the other species. Garrus and Wrex are both capable fighters, even if they're a little prone to quick action. And if Tali isn't interested in being an active part of the ground team, her insights into dealing with the Geth could prove invaluable. I mean, imagine if we were actually taught how to combat Geth effectively back at the Villa, I might have found found a way to get to Nihlus quicker, found a way to stop Jenkin's from getting hurt or managed to keep the beacon intact."

Anderson couldn't help but be proud of the way Shepard was maturing, she'd come along way from the shy little girl running around her Mother's ship.

"You've got permission to bring them aboard the Normandy Shepard. By the way, you don't actually answer to me now _Spectre._ " Anderson chuckled.

"You'll always be Anderson to me. Even if I don't have to address you as 'Sir', calling you David just feels weird after so long."

"It's incredible to see how much you take after Hannah, I don't think she's called me David since we all signed up. Look Shepard, we need to get going, the sooner we have this sorted out the better. We'll talk before you leave, don't worry." Captain Anderson grinned one last time before he turned to catch up with Udina and implement their ambitious plan.

Despite being a Spectre and given a relatively urgent mission to stop a galactic threat, Shepard found herself with the uncommon luxury of free time while Anderson's plan was being set in motion. It was rare that a crew on a ship would have shore leave outside of their regular rotation and the reality that she no longer had to work within the constraints of the Alliance military still had to sink in. Still, she had Anderson's blessing to try and recruit her unlikely allies to help in the pursuit of Saren and from the sound of it, Anderson inferred that she would continue serving on the Normandy somehow. After a few moments of weighing her options Shepard decided that it would be best to invite all three onto the Normandy, if they were going to be working on the ship then everyone would already be settling in while if they were transferred off then the new arrivals wouldn't be too settled in for it to be much of an issue. All she had to do was decide how to ask.

"Congratulations _Spectre_ Shepard. You came in here looking to take Saren down and you ended up being promoted for it. So how does it feel knowing you're the first Human to be a Spectre?" Garrus asked.

"It's not really sunk in yet, it sort of feels like after the Blitz with everyone wanting to see me and wanting to shake my hand. No doubt the Council will push me harder because I'm the first Human and you can bet the Alliance will ask me to lend a hand with a laundry list of missions so they can parade around their latest trophy. Still, at least I get to take down that bastard. If I have to jump through a few hoops to do it I guess that's a small price to pay."

"I'm just glad I had a hand in it, it's one thing to see a Human become a Spectre but it's another to know you helped make it happen. I know you've probably got everything planned already but if you ever need another gun I'm available."

"About that... I've cleared it with Captain Anderson so if you're okay with leaving C-Sec, there's room on the Normandy for you. The same goes you for you Tali, your knowledge of the Geth would prove an invaluable asset going up against Saren. I know you're on your pilgrimage but the offer's there if you want to join. Anything we find that you want to take back to the Fleet you're welcome to."

Garrus stood slack-jawed at Shepard's blunt offer to join her crew and no doubt Tali was also equally shocked behind her visor. It took a few moments for the shock to wear off before Garrus managed to stammer our a reply.

"Definitely, I'll hand my notice in to Executor Pallin on the way back to the Normandy. I'm looking forward to working with a Spectre, C-Sec has way too much red tape."

"I'm not going to run around shooting anyone who steps out of line or gets in my way Garrus."

"Of course, I mean... I didn't mean to imply you would, it's just there's that much _more_ tape on the Citadel. I'll head to Pallin and tell him I'll be out of his crest." The Turian nodded to Shepard and quickly left before he put his other foot in his mouth.

That just left Wrex and Tali, the latter of which was shifting on her feet as she considered the options. On one hand, if she stayed on the Citadel then the Shadow Broker or Saren might send more people after her. She might find something to be done with her pilgrimage quicker and avoid the risk but that wasn't a guarantee but on the other hand, if the Normandy did come across something of even greater value then Admiral Gerrel would no doubt appreciate the effort. And if it was something to do with the Geth... That was definitely worth the risk. Not to mention she'd have a chance to poke around on the Normandy. She'd been given a short tour while under Commander Shepard's protection, neither Captain Anderson or Commander Shepard wanted to risk her staying in a public venue or at C-Sec for the risk of Saren having hidden agents. And then there was the Commander herself, a woman who'd already saved her once, and simply Tali felt safer just being near the Commander. Overall it was a relatively easy decision.

"I'd be delighted to join the crew Commander. Engineer Adams was extremely polite and patient with all of my questions, I just hope he wouldn't mind me spending time with his engineers, the Normandy's drive core was fascinating to see up close." said Tali, her voice still clearly showing her reverence for the technological marvel.

"I doubt there'd be a problem with that, having spent most of your life on board a ship I guess it's only natural to learn about the ship you're on. Do you have any engineering experience at all or is it just a passing curiosity?"

"Most Quarians have some form of engineering training since we have to know how to react in case of a ship developing a problem. I spent a lot of my time creating and programming drones for the marines to deploy since we don't have much of a ground force, it often means we need to rely on technology if we ever need to send people off the ships."

"I'll have a word with Adams, see if he can find something to keep you entertained down in Engineering. I won't ask you to come on missions with the rest of the squad if you don't feel comfortable with it but I'd still appreciate any insights you can give me on Geth Platforms, we had some issues on Eden Prime and I have no intention of repeating those mistakes. With both you and Garrus coming aboard we'll need additional dextro rations on top of the emergency supplies Chakwas insisted the ship was stocked with. We'll have everything sorted before we leave."

Shepard turned her attention to the bulky form of Wrex, "Are you interested Wrex? I know it's not your regular job but the offer's there if you want to come. We can always use another gun for when we go up against Saren."

"And what do I get out of this arrangement? I don't see the Council paying my regular fees and all the military types I've worked with have tried to get me killed to avoid paying up" grumbled Wrex.

"I don't know what we can offer, but if come up with something that I can reasonably give you then it's all yours. And I most certainly will not send you to your death Wrex, I value my squads. That goes you as well Tali, and Garrus and any of the Alliance personnel under my command." Shepard's voice rang with conviction, whether what she'd said was enough or whether is was the way she'd said she couldn't tell but Wrex's reptilian lips curled in a smile.

"I suppose a favour from a Spectre is a hard thing to pass up, consider me pressed Shepard. I just hope your ship has plenty of food, the last recognised military vessel I was on was an Asari frigate escorting a prisoner back to the Citadel, it's all fruit and fish with them."

Shepard had to laugh, in the blink of an eye Wrex had gone from bartering his price to discussing food. It seemed some thing were universal across all species, soldiers from all walks of life and species could always relate over their rations, or lack of _._ She motioned to Alenko and Williams that she had an order for them and waited for them to cross the hall to the group.

"Alenko, Williams. I want you to take Tali and Wrex back to the Normandy. They'll be coming with us against Saren and I'd like them to get settled in before we leave so provide them everything they require. Garrus will also be joining us but he's gone on ahead to hand in his notice to Exector Pallin before we depart. Pass word to the Requisitions Officer in the docking bay that we'll require a supply of dextro rations beyond emergency supplies. I've still got to go and see what Councillor Tevos wants so I'll see you all back on the ship." ordered Shepard.

"Aye aye, ma'am. We'll have everything ready by the time you get back." replied Kaidan as he formed a salute. Williams followed the action but her expression was one of suspicion and concern. That would be the next thing she would have to deal with, the xenophobia of several people on the Normandy. If it wasn't dealt with quickly there would no doubt be some conflict with her orders down the watched as the remainder of the crew headed towards the elevator to return back to the main area of the Presidium, since she had one more appointment within the tower she proceeded to the Councillor's wing and Councillor Tevos' personal office.

* * *

 _Presidium Tower - Councillor Tevos' Office_

While she may have been on priority mission it didn't keep Councillor Tevos from making Shepard wait almost an hour before being seen. It'd taken all of the Commander's considerable patience not to snap at Anira, Tevos' personal assistant, when she offered mild assurances that Councillor Tevos was in a crucial call on a matter of Thessian politics and would see the Commander as soon as it was finished. For the most part, Shepard had sat in relative quiet while reading through Alliance Intelligence reports on Geth sightings and scouring for any information on the Geth from the other races, grumbling to herself whenever she found something that the Alliance hadn't already covered. Occasionally, the tranquil peace of the waiting room was broken by the Councillor raising her voice in opposition to whoever she was currently engaged in a meeting with.

Anira's omnitool pinged with a message, prompting her to stand and address Shepard, "Councillor Tevos will see you now, Spectre. I'm sorry that the meeting took longer than expected, sometimes the can be overly thorough."

"It's not a problem Anira, the Councillor said she wished to see me before I left and I intend to leave as soon as possible. I'm sure it's been difficult for Councillor Tevos to find time at such short notice. I don't intend to keep her any longer than necessary, perhaps she could resume her call where she left off, it sounded interesting." replied Shepard, causing the assistant to blush slightly and stifle a laugh. Did Anira know something more? Shepard hadn't thought it was _that_ sort of interesting.

"Please, it would be best if you went in." Anira's blush had spread and her entire face had turn a deeper shade of purple.

Shepard passed through the door and entered into a modestly decorated office; a few small violet plants, a painting of what looked to be a mansion or an estate taking up a sizable area of one wall, a luxurious corner sofa with an intricately carved wooden table and a desk that looked to be made of the same material as the table which the Councillor was currently seated at.

"Ah, Spectre Shepard. Thank you for coming, I'm sorry for the delay but I wasn't expecting you so soon. Come sit, I imagine you have a few questions regarding your new duties as well as what is expected of you but first let me say congratulations. No doubt you are a aware of just how long we've watched your progress, in fact Nihlus was adamant that you would have been an excellent Spectre several years ago." Councillor Tevos began as she and Shepard walked over to the sofas.

"You should be aware however, most Spectres are monitored before being given full privileges. In this regard, you've been extended a great deal of faith and trust that you will not abuse your new power. Not only would it reflect poorly on Humanity, but also on myself. You see, while Spectres from the Council races are automatically vouched for by their respective Councillors, Spectres from non-Council species require a Councillor to vouch for their inclusion. I personally vouched for you, just as Valern vouched for a pair of Drell agents from the Illuminated Primacy several years ago."

"So no pressure then. I don't intend to waste the chance Councillor. I have to ask, during the session you looked shocked to hear the second voice after Saren's. My gut tells me you know who it is. The last time I went out with limited information I almost lost a man, if this other will prove to be an issue I need to know now so I can prepare my squad accordingly."

"Ah, you caught that. Very well. The second voice in the recording belongs to a Matriarch Benezia, an incredibly powerful and influential member of the Matriarchal Conclave. More importantly, Matriarch Benezia is the young Dr. T'Soni's mother."

"Don't you think this would've been useful to share with the Council?" Shepard's voice raised, just as the Councillor's had in her previous meeting.

"And have Sparatus order Liara's immediate arrest and questioning? I've known Benezia for over eight centuries, it was a celebrated occasion within the Matriarchy when she gave birth to Liara, with both of Benezia's sisters having long since passed into the Goddess' embrace, the T'Soni line would've ended with Benezia. When her involvement with Saren comes to light it's likely that Liara will find herself in an unfortunate position as the daughter of a suspected traitor. I admit that initial suggestion to send you after Liara could have been perceived as mistake, as she doesn't have the centuries experience that some other Asari have researching Protheans, but I promised Benezia that I would ensure Liara was kept safe when she left the T'Soni Estate. Truthfully, it's a wonder she hasn't run into any trouble before now. However, if Saren wasn't bluffing and he has sent a force after Liara, it's imperative that you get to her first and ensure her safety. Whether she accepts it, or even believes it, she will help shape the future of the Asari Republics. The T'Soni's have always been crucial to the Asari's advancement as a whole."

"Very well, Councillor. Captain Anderson and Ambassador Udina are currently working on something before we leave, as soon as they've done their part we'll be off. Though no one's told me where she is. Yesterday you said it would take a few days to track her down, have you heard anything yet?"

"The University of Serrice was reluctant to share any information on their sponsored expeditions but eventually I persuaded the Dean that Liara was required to come before the Council. Liara should be on Therum, a planet located in the Knossos system within the Artemis Tau cluster. There's a recently unearthed Prothean facility there, she was the only one sent to the site, it seemed that only Liara had faith that the digsite was large enough to warrant a full expedition, the University eventually agreed to send her to assess the ruins." the Councillor's look seemed to grow more serious and concerned as she continued.

"Commander, I need to warn you before you leave. Once Sparatus finds out that Benezia is involved, he will demand that you return Liara to the Citadel. This must be avoided, for Liara's sake if nothing else. This will put you in a difficult position, you will need to defy Sparatus but I will agree with your discretion. Valern will agree if you can convince him that Liara isn't a threat."

"Understood, Councillor. There's room on the Normandy for a prolonged stay, it won't be luxurious but she'll have plenty of space if that's what she needs."

"I appreciate your willingness, but it is crucial that Liara is given room to distance herself from Benezia if the worst should happen. House T'Soni is one of the oldest on Thessia, it would be a grave situation for the Asari if anything should happen to it's last remaining daughter."

"Wait, so Liara and Benezia are some sort of Thessian royalty?"

"Nobility would perhaps be more accurate. Many of the older houses on Thessia once served as regional rulers much as Earth once had kings and queens rule over their lands. For us, the Matriarchs of these houses founded the basis of Asari culture today, we still heed the wisdom Matriarchs, we learn from their experiences, embrace their knowledge and teachings. The only remnant of the the older houses authority is the Matriarchal Conclave, which is primarily comprised of Matriarchs from the old houses. All Matriarchs have a voice and are heard, but those in the Conclave have more weight behind their words. Now you understand the situation, I trust you can be relied upon?"

"Of course. We'll take the Normandy to Therum as soon as we're able to. Though I have to ask, if Liara's judgement is going to be called into question until Benezia is dealt with, what of my visions from the beacon? Is my own word enough to convince the Council?"

"I believe you, we don't understand much of Prothean technology but I can say that I can believe a beacon could contain a warning. As to the contents of the vision... that might prove more difficult. I expect Liara will still wish to share a memory meld with you, her enthusiasm for Prothean culture bordered on zealotry according to Benezia. Once Liara has seen the vision and helped you to understand it then we can start to take steps as they become necessary."

"Okay. So, I'm going to be giving refuge to a the daughter of a Council's enemy, defying my superiors while going up against one of the most ruthless and dangerous individuals in the Galaxy?"

"You were made a Spectre for a reason, Shepard. Sparatus may complain but he was the first to agree that you be given the opportunity, remember we have to be shown to look out for the best interests of all, not just one particular race. That particular treatment has already caused the Batarian Hegemony to secede from Council space, they were on rocky terms with the Council before humanity began colonising the Skylian Verge. When we supported Humanity's claim to a single world in the Verge the Batarians closed their embassy and became an independent state."

"Yeah, I think it would be best if you don't send me on any assignments to Batarian space. Between Mindoir and Torfan there's enough bad blood between us to start another war."

"Fear not. We still have a Batarian Spectre, he decided to stay a part of the Spectres rather than return to Batarian space. Of course he could be a double agent but his record is exemplary and he has taken up assignments that put him at odds against the interests of the Hegemony. If you find yourself with some time, I suggest you speak with him, perhaps the perspective of a friendly Batarian might help you put the past behind you. Speaking of, you are free to take on assignments from the Alliance so long as they do not interfere with Council assignments, we do appreciate that you want to help your people but you are part of something larger now. Now, I've taken up far more of your time than I should of, just make sure that Liara remains unharmed. I will deal with the Conclave and the Council on her behalf. Farewell, Shepard"

While the Councillor wasn't a member of any military body, Shepard still gave Tevos a salute before leaving. The meeting had been an enlightening one for Tevos, Shepard had shown that she was willing to learn as well as follow orders, the exact opposite of every other Human she'd been in contact with. Humans were so hard to immediately understand unlike the other Council races, the Turians were direct but predictable, the Salarians were evasive but always focused on securing a means to their end while Krogan were as blunt as a hammer on glass. But then maybe it was simply because her limited experience with Humans extended to Ambassadors Goyle and Udina as well as a handful of other political individuals since Humanity joined the galactic scene.

* * *

 _AN: So this is the sort of AU twists I was largely talking about. To me, there would be no logical way that Tevos would simply throw Benezia to the wolves. She's supposed to be an incredibly powerful and influential Matriarch, I highly doubt Tevos wouldn't try to take steps to mitigate some of the fallout._

 _Also, I'm going to try and post a little more frequently. I've binged SWTOR so much recently so I'm going to tone that down a little. I'm going to put a more time and into writing as a result. Once again, I'd also like to thank people for taking the time to read this. It's ME1, it's pretty boring at times but I hope you'll stick with me when I'm writing the boring segments until the good stuff starts._


	8. Chapter 8 - The Chase Begins

_Edit - Realised the time frame was a little off, made a minor change. Also minor grammar issues._

* * *

 _Citadel Docking Bays - Dock 422_

The private meeting with Councillor Tevos had given Shepard a lot to think about as she made her way through the Citadel and back to the Normandy. It hadn't surprised her that the Councillors kept secrets, all politicians span their webs of half truths to deceive and manipulate their colleagues but knowing that the Tevos had kept such a monumental secret from the other Councillors left Shepard wondering what else they may decide was too sensitive to share. And then there was Doctor Liara T'Soni, daughter of a now confirmed ally of Saren, and how Sparatus would no doubt call for her immediate imprisonment once he found out about Benezia. This was going to end up being such a mess Shepard thought as she finally made it to the elevator that lead to the Normandy's docking bay, Tevos had already begun using her a political tool.

 _Five minutes into the job and I'm already being played_ mused Shepard. The news in the elevator broke Shepard from her troubled thoughts. "... A further development in the Eden Prime investigation; a joint task force comprised of C-Sec Officers, Alliance analysts and agents from the Special Tasks and Reconnaissance force. The first reports back led the Council to revoke the status of one of their operatives. While the Councillors and other political delegates refuse to release the identity of the now disgraced operative, they have confirmed that actions have been taken to apprehend the individual."

It seemed that it hadn't taken the press long to get a hold of the Council's ruling. No doubt within the week Terra Firma would have protests and rallies across Alliance space calling for further, more drastic action to be taken against Saren and Turians as a result. Shepard groaned inwardly after the wandering thoughts reminded her of the potential issues she'd have to address with Pressly, Williams and no doubt half the crew. What Shepard didn't understand was what _exactly_ was the problem with aliens?

Perhaps Nihlus was right, people feared what they didn't understand. No doubt many Humans still felt that every Turian wanted to bomb Earth and the Humans back to the Stone Age, a thought that wasn't helped by the constant bickering and condescension given back to them by Turians. But it didn't make sense why there was a resentment towards the Asari, Salarians and the rest of the more peaceful races in the galaxy. Maybe working alongside non-Humans would help the Normandy crew overcome their prejudices. From what she'd seen Garrus and Wrex were just as impulsive and quick to fight as any other marine she'd fought with and Tali was a nervous wreck, how anyone could be concerned about her was astounding. The only one Shepard felt might cause some disruption would be the semi-permanent addition of Doctor T'Soni, although that was largely due to her being the daughter of someone who may have had a hand in the Eden Prime invasion. Pinching the bridge of her nose, Shepard took a deep breath as the lift came to a halt.

Life was so much easier when you were just part of a force, Kaidan had the best position on the ship. A posting that still commanded respect but also kept you far enough away from actually having to deal with the politics that came with rank. Her sour mood immediately lifted when she saw the figure of Anderson standing near the airlock to the Normandy, the man deep in conversation with Ambassador Udina and another Alliance officer, his deep blue uniform pressed and in pristine condition.

"Is this some sort of joke, Anderson? You don't have the authority to give the ship away." the other man shouted.

"If I resign my commission then the ship's command falls to my XO and she just happens to be a Spectre. It's well within her authority to commandeer the ship for use as a Spectre, I don't see where _my_ authority comes into it Rear Admiral. You may not like it but she needs a ship, no, she needs _this_ ship to do what's needed. Having this ship in any single fleet, or flotilla, is a huge waste of resources. You weren't even planning on giving command of this ship to an N7, the only group in the Alliance military who'd actually make use of it's capabilities to the fullest."

"Who I put in command of this waste of money is my business, _Captain_ , and you'd do well to remember that. Hackett might tolerate your continual backtalk but there's enough in the Admiralty who've had enough of the way you try to run things. This ship is going back to Arcturus Station for a press event and then it's going to join my flotilla out in the Traverse. After Eden Prime we need a greater presence there and thankfully the Admiralty is with me on that." the Admiral growled.

"Actually Rear Admiral, the Admiralty agreed, albeit reluctantly, to release the Normandy over to the Council Fleet so long as Commander Shepard remains the Commanding Officer, they agree that this is an acceptable concession given the uniquely specialised nature of the Normandy. There are plans for cheaper models in the works that will utilise some of the technology that the Normandy makes use of that and those ships will see widespread use throughout the fleets."

"They did WHAT? First Shepard and now the Normandy. Is there anything else we want to give the Council? Maybe concede a continent on Earth or one of our fleets? Goyle should never have stood down, she wouldn't have even entertained the notion..." raged Mikhailovich.

"Perhaps, but I'm closer to securing us a Council seat than Goyle ever came. You'll thank me later, Rear Admiral. Everything I do, I do to secure Humanity as we move forward. If we have to give up our best soldier, so be it. If we have to return the Council's investment in order to sway them? So be it. One day soon, Rear Admiral, we'll be a Council race and you can have your pick of a dozen Normandy's, you can have your choice of N7's to suggest as a Spectre but you won't have any of that if you continue to act like a fool." Udina retorted.

Rear Admiral Mikhailovich was practically seething by this point, for the second time in a week he'd been slapped around the face by back room politicking. One look at the man and you would never have thought he was a potential choice to take command of the First Fleet the previous year. "You want the ship? Fine, take it. But know this _Captain_ Anderson, you'll never make Admiral, not while I breathe."

"Well let's be thankful that I'm happy just being a Captain then."

The Rear Admiral merely grunted and begrudgingly saluting before storming off back to the elevator, barely taking the time to acknowledge Shepard as he passed her. Captain Anderson looked immensely pleased with himself while Ambassador Udina had once again returned to looking impatient, as if any delays he endured somehow set him or his plans back considerably.

"Ah Shepard, good. You overheard that I assume?" Shepard nodded and Anderson continued, "Well, it's settled. As of ten minutes ago I'm no longer the CO of the Normandy, you are."

"Are you sure? I mean you're throwing away your career just to get me a ship..."

"Elizabeth, you might not realise it yet but what you're doing now will set the standard for how Humanity is perceived for years to come. You're going to need every bit of help you can get, another reason I'm glad you invited the non-Humans aboard, but more importantly you'll need a ship like the Normandy to operate as you need to out in the Traverse. You're going to be a long way from the cavalry, the Alliance is moving in and preparing to reinforce colonies but we both know that's a waste of time. Saren went to Eden Prime for the beacon, not to kill civilians."

Anderson took a deep breath as he walked over to lean on the safety railings overlooking the Normandy, "Admiral Hackett said to tell you that he'll help where he can but his hands are tied. Rear Admiral Mikhailovich was right about one thing; the Admiralty and the Alliance don't like catering to the Council and the Normandy was a huge thing to give away so soon but they're not going to give you unlimited support."

"So I'll need to work for that support, is that what you're saying?"

"Something like that. I know you serve the Council now but remember, to a lot of people you're still a Human and part of the Alliance first and foremost. The Admiralty is no different, they'll still expect you to take on Alliance missions and in return they'll keep providing support for you in your mission."

"Captain Anderson is right, Commander. You are a Human first and a Spectre second, anything you do still comes back to us and especially me. I'd also appreciate it if you didn't cause a political shitstorm _every_ time you decide your assistance is needed." Udina interjected.

"Isn't it your job to deal with the fallout?" queried Shepard, an impish smile forming on lips.

Udina sighed, "I was hoping you wouldn't say that. I'll admit that I was with Mikhailovich in that I felt you were simply too valuable to let go at first and I do hope you prove me right. Regardless, for what it's worth congratulations Commander. Captain, I'd appreciate your input on a certain matter that's come to my attention when you've finished here, it's about Admiral Kahoku's missing squad and what assistance he's pushing for."

"He's been petitioning for help for almost a week now, I've got a bad feeling about what we'll find. I'll be at the embassy shortly Ambassador." Anderson nodded.

Udina made kept his farewells brief before departing the docking bay. In Shepard's eyes, the man was hardly the sort of person you'd want to represent Humans, his personality was abrasive and confrontational but he'd been successful in manipulating events and seeing Humanity rise since he took over the reigns as the Human Ambassador to the Council. His results spoke volumes for his political acumen, his earlier performances with the Council seemingly being a rough patch. Under his tenure, the Alliance had expanded into half a dozen systems, established substantially more profitable eezo trade agreements with the Asari and established themselves as a formidable force throughout most of the industrial sectors.

Anderson and Shepard stood side by side for a few moments reflecting on the paths their lives would now take. Anderson would, presumably, take a desk job now that he'd 'resigned' from active duty and Shepard would be the Commanding Officer of the Normandy, responsible for the lives of all the crew on board and as a Spectre, responsible for maintaining peace throughout the galaxy. Anderson had it easy in comparison thought Shepard as she chuckled to herself.

"What're you laughing at?" asked Anderson as he cocked an eyebrow up.

"Just that you're going to be sitting around relaxing while I'm out getting shot. The _legendary_ Captain Anderson, the man with more military commendations and accolades than most of the officers in the Alliance, veteran of the First Contact War and countless assignments throughout a thirty year career. This great man reduced to pushing papers. It's a funny thought."

"Sure, I'm all of that but the one thing I'll never be is a Spectre. Everything I've done, every medal I've earned and all the missions I've come back from will pale in comparison to what you're going to do. You know, I had the chance to become a Spectre once."

"... What? When the hell did that happen?" Shepard's jaw was left hanging in shock. How was this not common knowledge?

"Eighteen years ago I was being considered as a Spectre, Ambassador Goyle petitioned for me to be part of the Spectre investigation that followed up on what we found at Sidon. One thing lead to another, Saren destroyed the facility and my chance was blown before I'd really had a chance to prove anything. You're the first person to have the opportunity since, Goyle and Udina have both pushed heavily for more candidates but either the Council or the Spectres shot it down repeatedly. At this point I'm inclined to think it was Saren wielding influence over the Spectres to decline rather than the Councillors themselves, at least until Nihlus started to pull away."

"Whoah... I mean, why didn't you ever tell me this before?" Shepard felt genuinely hurt, there wasn't a thing that she couldn't confide in Anderson about and that went both ways. This was a huge thing to keep hidden, surely someone would've known about this?

"I was sworn to secrecy, Goyle petitioned the Council in a private meeting considering the urgency of the situation at the time. I never told your parents and Kahlee only knew because she was a part of the investigation. The only people who know about it are Udina and the Admiralty and they definitely didn't want it to become public knowledge because they felt it would hurt our growing image. 'The first Human to be considered for the Spectres fails spectacularly?' The public isn't privy to the details, only the results when they're as big as a the explosion was on Camala." Anderson's seemed to show his weariness on the matter as he finished.

"And now because I'm a Spectre, I have access to the files about meaning it's not a secret to me. I can't say as it feels any better, I still wish you would've told us."

"So do I but after Goyle pressured the Admiralty I didn't have a choice. Listen, before you go I've got some bad news. I'm sorry to say that Corporal Jenkins family was recovered from their farm on the outskirts of the city. No survivors. His father was found outside the house with multiple gunshot wounds, likely trying to hold off whatever force passed through there while his mother and two younger sisters were gunned down inside," sighed Anderson, weariness once again evident on his face, "I suppose it's a small mercy to know it was the Geth that happened across them and not slavers, I'm not sure which is a worse fate."

Civilian casualties were to be expected, given the scale of the attack, but Shepard took the news to heart. Jenkins had thrown himself at a Geth platform that would've likely killed her and severely injured himself as a result. Now, he wouldn't even have a family to write home to during his downtime. And to make matters worse, Eden Prime was one of the more secure colonies and yet the scale of destruction was still incredible. She could pass the duty to Pressly, but Shepard had always taken steps to be familiar with her squads. Something like this was best coming from her. Anderson looked up and saw a dejected Shepard, his past experiences with Shepard meant he knew exactly was what bothering his protégé.

"You don't always have to be the one who gives the bad news. Your assignment is one huge problem just waiting for a spark to set it off, let your senior officers share the burden."

"He jumped on a Geth because I pushed myself too hard, the least I can do is tell him to him in person..."

"Part of being in command is being able to separate yourself from the crew when you need to. Sometimes sacrifices have to be made, sometimes your crew gets injured and sometimes your team doesn't come back at all. You need to be able to function without being held back by emotions and sentiments. Having those feelings is a good thing, it means you value all the lives under your command but never let those feelings guide your actions."

Shepard sighed, she knew Anderson was right but it didn't change the way she felt. Between making the decision to take Jenkins down as part of the first squad and his later efforts to save her when she'd dropped her guard near the beacon, Shepard felt guilty and ultimately responsible for Jenkins. If anyone had to break the news of his family to him, it would have to be her. The Captain knew he was fighting a lost cause and left the discussion where it was, he knew that Shepard steadily became familiar with her teams and crew and that wouldn't change. All he could do was hope that she'd quickly come to terms with the burdens that came with command.

The pair made their farewells as Anderson made to exit the docking bay, leaving Shepard standing alone in front of the Normandy's helm entrance. She took a deep breath before activating the door and initiating the decontamination process. In the short time the cleaning tools took to do their work, Shepard took the time to briefly reflect on how much responsibility was now on her shoulders; her team, her crew, the Spectres and being one of the key Humans that the galaxy would look at to truly judge humanity in the coming years. _No pressure_ Shepard thought as the inner door opened.

 _Logged: The Commanding Officer is aboard. XO Pressly stands relieved._

Shepard spared a glance down towards the CIC and saw a few eyes wander down to the helm to see to actually see for themselves that the famed Captain Anderson was no longer the CO of the ship. In a way, Shepard could sympathise with their potential disappointment. Every member of the crew, from engineering to the flight officers had been hand picked by the man himself. To many of the crew, being chosen to be a part of this particular crew was meant to be a badge of honour. Now no doubt most of the crew felt like they shouldn't be part of a crew that didn't operate within the Alliance.

Instead of walking through the CIC to dish out her orders, Shepard turned towards the helm and flicked on the intercom near Joker.

"Attention Normandy, I'm sure you are all aware now that a short while ago Captain Anderson resigned his commission as the Commanding Officer of the _SSV Normandy_. For those who haven't been told, the Alliance have also agreed to turn the Normandy over to the Council and the Spectres under the condition that I remain the CO. Now, I understand if some of you feel as if you don't belong on a Council mission. If anyone feels that way, speak to your team lead and when we return from our current assignment to Therum you will be transferred back onto an Alliance ship in the fleets with no marks on your records.

For those who choose to stay, this will be our most dangerous mission yet. We will be going into the Traverse after Saren with a legion of Geth at his back, the same Geth which laid waste to Eden Prime. Captain Anderson believes we are more than capable of the tasks at hand and I for one have no intention of letting him down, a sentiment I'm sure that many of you share. We will not turn away from the danger Saren poses, we will challenge him and his army head on and defeat him. No matter what system he flees to and what backwater planet he hides on, we will chase him down and bring him to justice."

When she'd finished, Shepard flicked off the intercom and leaned back against the wall. Her first thoughts wondered to how many of the crew might actually request a transfer, the ship wasn't a SA ship on an SA assignment now after all and it wasn't as if she couldn't sympathise with their decisions if they did. Shepard had signed up with the Alliance navy not only because it was the natural thing for her to do as a navy brat raised on Alliance ships and bases, but also because she'd wanted to do her part in keeping the colonies safe after surviving the slaver attack on Mindoir.

"Did you practise that speech on the way up, Commander? Seemed rehearsed." chimed Joker

"Hah. I only found out about it when I was stood outside, if I'd have had the whole elevator trip I'm sure I could've gone for an hour talking about duty and solidarity and all the rest. All I knew was that Captain Anderson and Udina had a plan to work on while I went to see what Councillor Tevos wanted, I had a feeling they were going to try and wrangle the Normandy for me but I didn't expect the Captain to give up his commission over it."

"It's kind of sad, really. All those missions, all those fancy medals and this is how his illustrious career comes to an end. I'm sure he expected to see himself go out fighting."

"I don't think N7's know any other way. I can't ever see myself being an Admiral, pushing papers and commanding a fleet. I don't know how Anderson did it being a Captain for as long as he did. When I was doing my assignments under Anderson for my seventh N rank, every time I came back from a field exercise and he hadn't gone he looked absolutely miserable. At least in Barnes' anti-pirate squad we saw plenty of field work, even if it wasn't the most exciting thing to do."

"Hitting pirate bases and stockpiles wasn't fun?"

"Not when most of the opposition were security mechs and second-rate mercs. A lot of the time it just felt like we were being run around rather than taking steps to clamp down on their operations. Still, I'd take that over fleet duty any time." Shepard sighed.

"Yeah I never want to be left on fleet duty. I can't think of anything worse than being stuck flying an admiral around a system for months on end. I-"

"Commander, the ship is prepared for flight and the crew stand ready." barked Navigator Pressly.

"Right, Joker set a course for Therum. Knossos System, Artemis Tau and I want us there yesterday. Saren has a head start and I don't intend to let him use it."

"We just need to disengage and we're on our way Commander" Joker acknowledged, all of his usual sarcasm now replaced by a standard military attitude.

"Good. I'm going to debrief the rest of the team, Pressly come with me."

"Yes ma'am."

Shepard lead Pressly through the CIC, stopping occasionally to make sure that the various system leads had things under control and everything was running smoothly. Pressly had already informed her that everything was ready but she felt that personally making an appearance would help boost the crew's morale, especially after losing the Captain as the CO so soon. Much to Shepard's relief, the crew who she'd taken the time to speak with had all expressed a desire to stay on with her rather than request a transfer. She couldn't say the same for Pressly, however. While he never outright said expressed a desire to stay, he never expressed a desire to leave either.

By the time the pair had gotten to the comm room Joker had already gotten the ship out of the Citadel docks and en route to the Widow Relay. Shepard had already requested that all of her ground team were to report in to debrief which left her a few moments to at least ensure that Pressly wouldn't cause a problem, at least until things had settled down.

"I know you've got issues with the Turians Pressly but in order for this to work I need to know that there wont be any problems during missions." requested Shepard as she stood firm with her arms crossed across her chest.

"The mission comes before any personal issues, Commander. If there's a problem it will not be on my end I assure you."

"This is bigger than the Alliance, bigger than all of humanity. What we do will echo for generations, we can't afford for petty feelings to jeopardise the mission. That goes for you, the whole crew and our new friends, we are in this together now."

"Understood, Commander. I'll make sure the crew understands."

Before Shepard could affirm Pressly's statement the rest of the ground force filed in and took their places around the comm room, Alenko and Williams filed into the left set of seats along with Navigator Pressly while Garrus, Wrex and Tali filed into the right. The split between Alliance personnel and non-Human contingent only served to emphasise the topic Shepard had broached with the Navigator, it was definitely something that they would have to deal with once things had settled down and she knew who and who wasn't staying on. At least the non-Humans weren't isolating themselves completely, Wrex and and Garrus were engaged in a conversation over the approach for engaging a fortified position. Tali was once again wringing her hands however, seemingly unsure of her place on the Normandy.

"To follow on to what I told the crew, everyone here is integral to the success of the mission. I want to thank our newest crew members for agreeing to be a part of the mission, your various areas of expertise will be invaluable going forward. Our first objective is to reach Doctor T'Soni before Saren's group can get to her and safely extract her. At the Council meeting he never went into any detail about the force he'd sent so we're working with a substantial unknown and based on the extent of the forces he had at Eden Prime we could be facing another army. Because of the amount of unknowns, I want the Normandy in stealth mode in close orbit and ready to evac the ground team..."

* * *

 _Normandy CIC - Three Hours Later_

The meeting had been informative for the rest of the team, Tali's insights into how the Geth operated and how best to disrupt them would prove invaluable going forward. Shepard had intended for the briefing to last longer but when tensions began to flare between Ashley and Garrus she'd quickly called an end to things. Since the crew now had a little more downtime than originally planned Kaidan found himself sat in the mess with Ashley, along with a group of the support marine staff. Much to his displeasure, Williams was currently leading the marines in complaint about how much free run of the Normandy the aliens would have.

He didn't understand what all the fuss was about, aliens were just like Humans right up to the point where they looked different. The Asari could be among the most compassionate people yet many of the underworld elements of the galaxy were run by the Asari, most notably the mining station of Omega run by one Aria T'Loak. The same could be said of the Turians, the vast majority of their population upheld their laws and served in their extensive fleets while a small percent of the Turian people were some of the coldest mercs in the Terminus. Even the ingenious Salarians had enough doctors and scientists with questionable ethics to bring the public opinion of their race down.

"I'm just saying, I'd feel a lot better if the aliens didn't have the run of the place. We've all heard the rumours about Quarians on ships, never mind the fact that we've also got a Krogan and a Turian on board. What the hell was the Commander thinking?" urged Williams to the rest of the marines surrounding her.

"Really, Chief? After what you saw on the Citadel you still want to doubt them?"

"What do we really know about them LT? How do we know that Garrus wont break rank and put us in danger? Or Wrex, what happens when he decides that the Commander isn't worth following and leaves us high and dry? What's to stop the Quarian girl from sharing all the Normandy's secrets with the rest of the Migrant Fleet? Can we really trust any of them?"

"A Krogan's word is their law, Chief. There is nothing more important to the Krogan than their honour and it's that honour which has kept the Krogan from extinction. They fight hard and die well but they respect the strength of their enemies and the word of their leaders. Without their honour they have nothing, no reason to keep fighting, no reason to survive. Wrex will be loyal to the Commander, just as much as any in marine in the Alliance. Garrus is no different. You've heard how rigid the Turians are in war, they don't break rank. Garrus might not have been in the military long but they're raised from childhood to put the needs of their community before their own. And besides, Turians helped create this ship, it's not as if Garrus can share any secrets that won't already be known by the Hierarchy's navy." Kaidan replied, his even tone conveying no condescension towards Ashley.

"I... I guess. I just don't see why we need Wrex and Garrus when we already have a full marine force. I can see understand asking Tali about the Geth but that could be done without bringing her on board. What happens if she shares all of the Normandy's tech with the rest of their fleet? Imagine an entire fleet of stealth ships sir, can we really it?"

"The Quarians have always been one of the more technologically minded races in the galaxy Chief. For all we know their fleet already has better systems and managed to scrape together the resources to develop their own stealth tech. If anything, Tali will know more about this ship than we do within the week. In regards to Wrex and Garrus, Wrex is a biotic. As it stands we only have two fully trained biotics and adding another gives us additional options out in the field. You saw the Commander on Eden Prime and on the Citadel, she held her own up on the front lines just like a Krogan would. Between the two of them they'd disrupt enemy positions and flush out defenders giving us the chance to take them down. That's where Garrus comes in. He's trained with assault weaponry and sniper rifles meaning he can pick off stragglers that leave cover or flank them when Wrex draws them in, he's also trained to use light tech, standard training for C-Sec officers."

"How do you even know that?"

"I took the time to ask and _try_ to understand them. Maybe it's because I'm a biotic and I've always been pushed away by Humans but I'd rather try and work with them than against them. Maybe you should give it a try."

"Is that an order, Lieutenant?"

"No it's a suggestion. Just think about it, _all_ of you. They're not the enemy and treating them like one won't help stop Saren." imparted Alenko as he stood up and left the disgruntled marines to their complaints. He couldn't help but feel that their frustration was in part due to his own shortcoming as the leader of the marines, perhaps if he'd pulled all of them aside earlier before the Commander had returned and explained what would happen and made it clear how they would be expected to operate in regards to the aliens.

Berating himself wouldn't help things now, he'd try to talk them around to the idea but failing that he would have to turn to the Commander for help. Even after spending a short time with his marine detail, he'd come to understand how much the average rank and file looked up yo and respected the Commander for being one of them, a marine to the core even if she was fast tracked into the N7 Special Forces program, a few words from her would help push them in the right direction...

"Thank you."

Alenko practically jumped out of his boots, the voice of the Commander caught him completely unaware. How long had she been listening to the marines dish out all manner of insults and slights towards the aliens? He turned to face her only to find that she was already suited up in her

"I err... what for Commander?"

"For at least trying to help them understand. Chief Williams is going to learn first hand what our friends are capable of when they're not constrained by the rules of the Citadel but the rest of the marines are likely going to be securing the objectives and functioning as backup, they wont see them first hand. I'm glad that not all the Humans on this ship are Terra Firma bigots at least." stated Shepard as she hit the switch to bring the elevator up from the cargo bay.

"We need to change Commander, so long as the majority of Humans believe that every alien would've preferred us to have been wiped out in the First Contact War we'll never fit properly into the galactic community. Cross-species missions like this can only help show the public that we can work together and we don't need to be at each other's throats over something that shouldn't have even been a problem."

"And here I thought every marine just wanted to shoot things Lieutenant. If anything I would've thought you in particular might've had problems working with Garrus after what happened on Jump Zero"

The elevator opened and the pair stepped in, "What good would that do? I'd be just as bad as everyone else if I judged an entire race over the cruel actions of a few individuals. Would I have preferred it not to have happened? Sure, but what's done is done and we can only move forward. Garrus wasn't the one who broke Rhana's arm, it was Vyrnnus and the rest of the Turian mercs the Alliance hired that made living there a nightmare. I heard the programs set up after Brain Camp were much less confrontational, I'd like to think that if the Alliance had gone that route then perhaps Alliance biotics might have been more readily accepted by now."

"Yeah, I went through my biotic training around three years after Gagarin was closed down. By the time I got there they'd got a bunch of Asari huntresses in who were due to retire and return to Thessia settle down with families. They were firm but fair, a much better fit for you I'd bet Lieutenant. They tried getting us to focus more on the nature of biotics and how to control them rather than turning us into weapons like the Alliance wanted." Shepard continued sounding almost disappointed.

"Sounds like heaven compared, ma'am."

The elevator compartment came to a halt before opening up to the busy cargo bay with a handful of marines milling about throwing suspicious looks in the direction of Garrus, who seemed to be closely inspecting the M35 Mako, and Wrex who appeared to be rummaging through the armoury for some sort of mod for his prized shotgun. The pair left the elevator and headed over towards their lockers to grab their gear and kit up before the mission.

"For what it's worth Alenko, you did the right thing on Gagarin. They had the whole lot of you wound up so tight its wonder that no one snapped earlier. The diplomatic mess that Gagarin became meant others didn't have to go through it. In a way, I owe you Lieutenant, I'm not sure I would've lasted as long as you did." Shepard smirked as she pulled out her Crusader shotgun and began checking that it was in a suitable state after Eden Prime, whoever had stored her weapons after being picked up on Eden Prime had carefully worked out the surface damage. She made a mental note to thank whoever had taken the time and effort to maintain her weapon when she was out.

"I guess that's a different way of looking at it. But losing control like that though, I've never done that since."

"Hah, maybe you should Human. A Krogan in a blood rage is almost unstoppable, a Krogan biotic in a blood rage is like watching Kalros emerge. If you gave your people a reason to respect your strength like the Commander has you wouldn't have to worry about what the weak think, that's the Krogan way." Wrex boomed.

"If only it were that simple Wrex, Humans usually tend to be suspicious whenever someone doesn't act normal and biotics certainly don't help with that. If we started using our biotics in the general public we'd probably be locked up or shot."

Wrex shrugged, "So shoot first, seems pretty simple to me."

While Wrex, Shepard and Kaidan had been talking about how best to prove themselves in the eyes of the general Human population Ashley, Tali and Garrus had made their way over to their own respective lockers, since Tali and Garrus were already wearing their armour that just left the Chief to kit up and they were ready for the mission. Each of the group carried a pair of weapons suited to their strength, more than they'd took down on Eden Prime,

A few minutes passed while the final preparations were made before shouting, "Come on stop standing around. We're all getting into that Mako and going in hot, Saren's had a few hours head start on us and I'm not about to let him have another victory. Move it people!" boomed Shepard as she made her way over to the hulking juggernaut of a machine followed by the rest of the squad with Garrus and Tali warily eyeing the machine.

* * *

 _AN: I'm sorry that it's taken so long to get something out, I said I'd try and work on writing more after binging out on TOR but it's just been so busy leading up to Christmas. It hasn't helped that this chapter just seemed to be a pain to write, I'm personally not happy with the Chapter, but at this point I've rewrote it 3 times and I really want to start getting into the more interesting parts of the story._

 _Side note, I had no idea the Mako actually had a ton of space, check out Mass Effect: Paragon Lost. I'm pretty sure you could fit the whole SSV Normandy ground crew in one if it wasn't for the 2 squad mate game mechanic._

 _Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year everyone, have a good one._


End file.
